Hidden Hero
by Thalia Bolt
Summary: "Thalia Bolt isn't my real name but it's the one I chose for myself.. I have a power. I can seek out anyone in pain, physical or not, and I can take it away. But at a terrible price: I must bear their pain. A lot for a fifteen-year-old girl to swallow right?" And that was before Gaea told me to use my secret to kill Jason Grace. Enter my life. The story no one dared tell untill now
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter one:**_

**A/N Takes place right after TLH.**

**Disclaimer: I own myself and my notebook. Percy and the HOO characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

My name is Thalia Bolt, and I am a halfblood. My real name isn't Thalia Bolt, but it is the one I chose for myself. My godly parent? I don't know. But whoever he is, with the hand he's dealt me, he can't be that great. I guess most demigods would say that, but for me it's especially true. You see I have back pain. The doctors said my pain was just pain. But it isn't. I have a power. I can seek out anyone in pain, physical or not, and I can take it away. But at a terrible price: I must bear their pain. A lot for a fifteen-year-old girl to swallow right? I'm not skinny like other girls. I have dark brown curly hair that brushes my shoulders, icy blue/grey eyes, and perfectly shaped lips. My family is great, when they weren't trying to get me to see monsters disguised as doctors. They didn't know, nor did they believe me when I told them. My dad worked a lot trying to provide for us. My mom had a tough past but tried her hardest to be the best mom she could. My twelve-year-old brother? Eh, I love him anyways. When the monsters started attacking me, I made sure my family didn't know. They worried enough about mortal problems. They didn't need demigod problems. I told them Camp Half-blood was a camp for "handicapped" kids. So, off I went.

At camp, no one ever bothered me. Except once, shortly after I arrived. I'd been staying in the Hermes cabin for about a month. A Hermes kid tried to steal my bag when he thought I wasn't looking. People think they can take advantage of me because of my normally reserved demeanor. I unsheathed my magic sword. It was celestial bronze and I could change the length with just a thought. From a short dagger to a long slim sword. I swung at the boy's neck, stopping right before it severed his head, and glared at him. It was my signature glare. The other Thalia, the one I named myself after, had her glare. It was fierce, war-like, angry. It was like watching lightning flash across the sky. Annabeth had a glare. It was intelligent, calculating, like she was telling you she had already found your weakness and was ready to exploit it. Mine was different. Mine was pain. I take all the pain I hide deep down and let it radiate. It's so much pain, anyone who looks me in the eyes is overcome with it. It cripples them. The boy yelped, terror in his eyes. The overcrowded cabin grew deathly quiet. He backed away slowly, eyes wide. He muttered an apology and ran out the cabin. I scanned the faces of the other campers. They looked at me like I was a freak. "Don't touch." I said quietly. I sheathed my sword and strode out of the cabin, my cheeks burning.

Now I'd been at camp for six months. It was a warm day in the valley, but not uncomfortably so. I saw campers practicing archery, climbing the rock wall, playing volleyball, and generally just having fun. I saw nymphs dancing and laughing as lovesick satyrs chased them, other satyrs played their pipes to the strawberries, nereids wove baskets in the lake, and Chiron seemed to be scolding the snickering Stoll brothers. He waved to me after the Stoll brothers walked away. I smiled softly and inclined my head. I eventually made my way to the beach. I sat at the edge of the woods in the shade, my back to a tree. I was still a ways from the waterfront, but I could hear the sound of the waves crashing ashore, and smell the salty air. I pulled my knees up and folded my arms on top. _'Why do I always feel like an outcast?' _I wondered glumly. Campers walked to and fro across the beach. Their pain pressed into my back, making it ache. But I had grown accustomed to it. The campers would glance at me and whisper to each other as they walked past.

"She's so weird."

"Did you hear about what she did to that Hermes kid?"

"I heard she went to a mental hospital."

"Still unclaimed? Hope she isn't in OUR cabin."

I let my hair fall over my face, veiling myself from anyone walking by. Some campers hated me, but most feared me. If they knew the truth, they'd fear me even more. Because I knew what pained all of them. But even that couldn't compare to the power I held. I quite possibly could be more powerful than Percy Jackson or the new roman kid Jason. But no, I couldn't think about it. It was my most guarded secret. Even Chiron didn't know. I doubt he would have let me in the camp if he knew. Suddenly I felt a pull in my gut. I moaned. _'Not now!'_ I thought _'I don't want to!' _The pull got stronger, then painful. I gasped. I struggled to my feet. The pulling lead me to the cabins. There were so many. According to Chiron there used to be only twelve. But after the second Titan war, Percy Jackson pretty much told the gods that the war was their fault. Their demigod children went to Kronos' side because they felt abandoned. He convinced the gods there needed to be a cabin for Hades and every minor god, not just the eleven they had. Now there were dozens of cabins. The pulling brought me to the Athena cabin. I thought all the Athena kids were at archery but as I looked through the doorway, one girl still remained. She sat at a desk covered with maps and books, her shoulders shook with sobs, which she tried to stifle. I knew immediately it was Annabeth. She was pained because she missed Percy. And because she didn't know how the romans were treating him. It was deep, heart wrenching. Which explained why the pulling had hurt so bad. She wanted his arms around her, to kiss him again, to punch the daylights out of him. That last part I didn't understand but I let it go. I walked softly towards her. "Annabeth?" I asked. She jumped but didn't look at me.

"Oh, ahem.." she choked back the sobs and tried to sound cheerful and composed. But I knew better. "Yes?" She didn't turn around.

"He wouldn't want you to do that. Make yourself miserable."

She tensed. "How did you-?"

"I didn't know him long, but I could tell he was a good guy. I mean, he talked to me like I wasn't a freak. He was my highlight of the day or week, when he would teach me sword fighting. He would always choose me as a partner. Said I was the best in the Hermes cabin." My voice was sad as I remembered being with Percy. He was my only friend. My words started to take effect. Annabeth's shoulders started to relax. She half turned towards me. I saw her begin to smile.  
"During water break, he would talk of you. How smart you are, how pretty, how brave, how you would keep him in check." She laughed at that last part. I walked towards her, I had taken most of the pain away, but I needed to touch her to finish. "He wouldn't want you to blame yourself. You're doing everything you can to find him. And you will. Even an outcast like me knows who the great Annabeth Chase is. You WILL find him. I know it. And so does he." I laid my hand on her shoulder. I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly, drawing the pain from her. It came slowly. It grew stronger and stronger. It took all my willpower to keep pulling. I fought back tears as not only physical pain, horrible burning pain racing up and down my spine, but also emotional pain. I thought my heart was being ripped in two. My face turned red. I had trouble breathing. Finally the last tendril of pain entered my body. I crumpled to my knees, my arms pressed tightly against my stomach."Oh gods!.." I gasped. "You do love him." Tears slipped down my cheeks. The emotional pain intensified, because I knew I would NEVER have someone love me like Annabeth and Percy loved each other. Annabeth quickly turned to me.

"What's wrong?! Wait, you're Thalia. Percy told me about you." She dropped to her knees beside me. "Thalia? What's wrong? Let me help you to the infirmary."

I shook my head. "No." I moaned. She reached towards me. I backed away. I couldn't let the campers see Annabeth helping me to the infirmary. Everyone would know about my power. I struggled to stand. I backed away, hunched over in pain, arms still pressed tight to my stomach. "I'm sorry. I have to go." I said.  
"Thalia wait! What did you do?!" I stared into her striking storm gray eyes.  
"I took your pain away." I whispered. Her eyes widened. I quickly stumbled out of her cabin.

I moved as quickly as I could, which wasn't very fast. It took all my willpower not to collapse. I knew Annabeth would follow me. _'Where to go? Where to go?'_ I thought desperately. My tears blurred my vision, making it hard to see. But there was one thing I could see clearly: the woods. I knew it was stocked full of monsters but I didn't care. I headed towards it. Campers who noticed me gave me funny looks as I stumbled past. "Thalia!" Annabeth called. She was standing just outside her cabin, apparently she hadn't seen me yet. I ducked behind a group of campers and kept moving to the woods. Black spots danced in front of my eyes. I was in agony, pain radiating down my spine. I was ten feet from the woods. "Thalia, wait!" Annabeth yelled. She had spotted me. _'Just a little further_...' Satyrs and campers alike stared at Annabeth then at me. I plunged into the woods. I stumbled and tripped over unseen obstacles. Low light and tear blurred vision made moving nearly impossible. Finally the pain overwhelmed me. I collapsed, wanting to sob but was in too much pain. Tears fell silently down my cheeks. The pain was radiating from my back through my body. "Thalia? Thalia?" I heard Annabeth getting closer. "Oh my gods! Thalia!" Suddenly she was next to me. "Jason! Jason, I found her!" she shouted.  
'_Jason? Oh no, not him! He can't know!_' Jason raced towards us. "Oh gods.. She doesn't look good."

I moaned. _'Is "Oh gods" all they can say?'_  
"Jason, you have to carry her. We need to get her to the infirmary and get some ambrosia and nectar in her, stat!" He nodded in agreement. He picked me up gently, but pain still flared in my back. "No... Don't worry about me.." I whispered.  
"Sorry Thalia, not going to happen. You're pale, glassy-eyed, in a lot of pain, and close to losing conciousness. We're taking you to the infirmary." Annabeth said sternly.

"Percy was.. right... you are stubborn.." I choked out. Annabeth cracked a small grim smile.

"What happened to her?" Jason asked Annabeth as they raced me to the Big House.

"Tell you later, after we take care of her." She turned to me. "Just hang on Thalia. Hang on." I was barely conscious. Next thing I knew, I was lying in a bed with Jason looking down at me. His eyes were a gorgeous sparkling blue, like the sky in the middle of a beautiful summer day.

"It's ok, Thalia. We got you." Everything went black.

**Third POV:**

"Ok so what happened?" Jason asked. Annabeth looked shaken but she quickly filled him in on what had happened. "She took your pain away? How is that possible?" Jason could tell Annabeth's gears were turning.

She started pacing. "She's not claimed... I've never heard of anyone with powers like this... Where is Marco?!"

Soon a lean Apollo kid with well muscled arms hurried in.

"There you are! What took you so long?!" She asked angrily.

Marco flinched. He knew what Annabeth was capable of. "Sorry." he murmured. "What's wrong with her?"  
Annabeth and Jason glanced at each other.  
"We don't know." Jason said truthfully.  
Marco blinked. He stood at Thalia's bedside and held his palms over her. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly he flew backward and slammed into the wall. He moaned as he slid to the floor. Jason and Annabeth stared in shock.  
"What in Hades' name was that?" she asked. Marco moaned again.  
"I've never... I've never felt so much pain in one person. I don't know who she is or where she came from but... If she can endure this kind of pain.." He shook his head. "She's the strongest person I've ever met."  
All three turned to look at Thalia. That's when Chiron entered. "Who is injured? Oh.. Oh dear." He sighed. "Who did she heal?"

"She healed me, Chiron." Annabeth said. "Who is she? Percy told me about her before he... disappeared. But even he didn't know much about her. And what exactly did she do? To me, I mean."

Chiron looked at her sadly. "Why don't you back to your activities Marco? Thank you for your assistance."

Marco was still stunned from what had happened. He nodded and stumbled out the door.

"I'm afraid Thalia has it difficult. More so than most. I don't know everything, as she is reserved. I don't know her real name. Thalia Bolt is the name she took for herself, after Jason's sister. She hasn't been claimed, which is odd. Then again no one has really heard from the gods lately. Being fifteen, she has a large burden to bear. Thalia can remove pain from people, physical or emotional. But in doing so she must pull the pain into her own body. She can also sense when people are in pain. When someone is hurting, their pain pulls her to them. All she has to do to remove the pain is speak to them or touch them."

"But... What about her? She just.. Takes the pain? Why? Why not just refuse?" Jason asked. Chiron's shoulders sagged.

"Alas, she cannot. But even if she could, I doubt she would." He smiled sadly. "She has a big heart and a strong will."

"She didn't know me, not really. Just from what Percy said. Yet she healed me without complaining. Is it true that Percy was her only friend?"

Chiron nodded. "Unfortunately the other campers are scared of her. Yet they don't know her true power. Even I don't know how far her abilities extend... Perhaps it would be good if you were to befriend her, Jason?"

"What about me?" Annabeth asked, slightly offended that Chiron seemed to overlook her.

"I'm sorry my dear. But untill you are... feeling better, I don't think you should be too close to her."

Annabeth flushed. "I didn't mean too! I didn't think anyone knew where I was..."

"I know, child. Percy's disappearance took a toll on everyone. You especially. Thalia will be fine. Now, I think it's time you joined your siblings. Jason, will you watch over her?"

He nodded.

"I will see you both at supper." Chiron wheeled himself out, Annabeth following. Jason sat down in a chair by Thalia's bedside, content to wait.

**So? Want to know more about my adventure?**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter two:_**

_**Disclaimer: You think I magically gained ownership of PJO and HOO in the span of a few days? I wish...**_

My eyes slowly opened. My back and legs ached terribly. I moaned. "Are you ok, Thalia?" I jumped and looked next to me. Jason sat in a chair at my bedside. I looked around.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're in the infirmary."

I paled. Everything came rushing back. _'Oh gods, he knows! Everyone saw me run from Annabeth, and saw Jason carry me. Oh gods, oh gods, they all know!'_ I was probably over reacting but I didn't care. I had to get out of there. Throwing the blankets back, I swung my legs over and quickly stood. Everything seemed to tip forward. I fell against the wall. I used it to push myself up.

"Hey slow down! Take it easy, it's ok." Jason said, standing.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." I was hurting pretty badly. I stumbled out the door. But soon I grew accustomed to the pain. I pushed it down and was able to walk normally. I hurried to the door of the Big House, ready to be out in the open.

"Thalia wait!" Jason called, striding after me.

The whole situation had stressed me out, plus I was in pain.

"Leave me alone Jason!" I snapped. Still he followed.

"Come on, just wait!" he pleaded.

Then to my utter annoyance, I felt a pull in my gut. Pulling me backwards torward Jason. He was pained because of his upcoming quest. He didn't know how going back to his roman camp would affect his relationship with Piper. And he didn't know if the romans would accept him back. I tried to fight it, but of course I couldn't. And I admit I didn't want to. I felt bad, even though I would never admit it.

"Thalia?" Jason asked. I growled in frustration.

'_Curse my compassion!' _I felt Jason grip my fory earm lightly. In the blink of an eye, I twisted my arm so I was gripping his arm. He blinked in surprise. I pulled his pain into my body. I almost passed out. I swayed and tried to blink the black spots out of my eyes.

"You took it away." he breathed. I held back tears. I felt ashamed, being forced to take away his pain. I would have done it anyway but I HATED not being in control of my own body.

"I had no choice!" I shouted, and quickly ran out of the Big House. I raced to the Hermes cabin. It was empty, everyone was at sword training. I had no desire to go. Percy wouldn't be there. I sat in my floor area of the cabin. Despite it being crowded with kids, there was a sizable gap between my sleepingbag and everyone else's. No one wanted to be close to me. I pulled my knees up and hid my head in my arms. '_They all know.'_ I thought, over and over. When the dinner bell rang, I snuck into the arena. It was empty. All the campers were at dinner and Mrs. O'Leary was with Tyson the cyclops searching for Percy. I drew my sword and walked to one of the practice dummies. I began practicing different manuevers Percy taught me. I let loose all my anger, slashing and hacking mercilously. My back started to hurt worse. But instead of stopping, I let it fuel me. I doubled in ferociousness. Finally, in one vicious swing, I cut the dummy in half. I sunk to my knees, utterly spent. Tears slid gently down my cheeks. '_Always crying_..' I thought bitterly. I didn't bother to change into my pjs. I just crashed onto my sleepingbag. The other campers were at the campfire, so it was quiet in the cabin. Soon I fell asleep.

I was outside the Hermes cabin. I turned around and saw it was empty. '_I wonder where they went_?' It was quiet in the valley. It's NEVER quiet. My heart began to pound. I ran from cabin to cabin, they were all were empty. Panic swept through me. As I came out of the last cabin I heard a voice.

"**_Poor girl... All alone._**" I froze. _**"Pity, pity.**_"  
I looked around. No one was there.  
_**"I can help you..**_"

"Help me with what?" I asked suspiciously.

**_"Do me one small favor, and you will never be an outcast again. You will be accepted by all of your fellow campers. Never again will you be alone._**"

She had my attention. "What favor?"

**_"Use your secret gift to kill Jason Grace._**"

I gasped and stumbled backward, my face deathly white. "No.. I can't! I won't! It's not worth it!"

_**"Really? Are you positive? I know you Thalia. I know your desires. You will do this"**_

I shook my head. "No! You can't make me!"

The woman laughed. _**"We shall see..**_"

_**~*~*~O~*~*~**_

I woke to someone nudging me with their shoe.

"Yo, time to get up. Hurry or you'll be late."

He walked away, but not before shooting me a dirty look. I sighed and hurried to get ready. I managed to catch up to the rest of the Hermes campers before they reached the pavillion. When I got my food I realized everyone had a seat at the table except for me.

"Sorry, no room." I sat on the ground, the woman's words running through my head._** '...Accepted by all your fellow campers... Use your gift to kill Jason Grace..'**_ I looked up from my breakfast to see Jason watching me, sadness in his eyes. No, I couldn't kill him. Annabeth and Jason's girlfriend Piper were watching me also. I looked away and quickly finished my breakfast. I left early to go to my activities. Lunch and supper went the same way. Once again I skipped the campfire in favor of practicing in the arena. Although this time I didn't slice another dummy in half. I had the same nightmare that night. The woman asking my to kill Jason in exchange for acceptance. The rest of the week went exactly the same. Soon I grew tired, my eyes looked glassy, and I was miserable.

* * *

**So? How am I doing? Sorry it's kinda short but I wanna know if anybody wants this story to continue. R and R!**

**_Thalia Bolt_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter t**__**hree:**_

_****_**A/N Thanks** pixieheart22 **a****nd **Vee **for the reviews! I was sooo excited! Anyway, this is more of a filler chapter that sets up Thalia and Nico's relationship (just friends!). Sorry it's short! The next chapters will be longer and set up the quest. R and R!**

I was sitting in a secluded spot by the lake, watching the sun play across the crystal blue water. I felt calm. Serene. Suddenly I felt a presence approaching me. They were full of pain and loss. They felt alone, like a lost child. Yet there was a glimmer of hope. Of happiness buried. I had never felt anything like it, except inside myself. I turned around. There stood Nico DiAngelo. I was surprised.

"Hi." he said. I quickly glanced around. _Is he really talking to me?_ I wondered. Seeing no one, I turned back to him.

"Uh, hi." Mental face palm. Nico didn't seem to notice.

"Can I sit here?" he asked casually, gesturing to a spot of grass next to me.

"Uh, ye-yeah." Double face palm. Nico plopped down next to me. He was wearing his usual all black clothing, aviator jacket, and skull ring. His Stygian iron sword was strapped to his side. _Yup.. just chilling with the god of the dead's son. Nothing unusual about that. _I almost smiled at that thought. There was an awkward pause. _Why is he here? This can't just be a friendly visit... _

"Um, not trying to be rude but, why are you here?" I asked. Nico leaned back on his arms.

"Honestly? Chiron, Jason, Annabeth, and Piper are worried about you."

I rolled my eyes. "More like worried about my power..." I muttered.

"Partly." I blushed. I didn't mean for him to hear me. "But they are also worried about _you_. No offense, but you don't look so good." His dark eyes studied me.

"Yeah well, I'm fine. Just a couple of nightmares." At the word 'nightmares', Nico's expression darkened. His pain leveled increased. He seemed to age ten years. _What has this kid_ _seen?_ I felt a small pull in my gut. His pain was depressing. No kid should carry so much pain. _Except me... _I thought. I reached to put my hand on Nico's shoulder and heal him. Faster than I could blink, Nico's hand shot out and caught my wrist. I yelped, my heart pounding. We locked eyes. My icy blue ones to his brown, almost black, ones._  
_

"Don't.." he said quietly. I was still in shock. Finally I found my voice.

"Wh-why not?"

"Because it hurts you." he said simply. He let go of my wrist.

"Why do you care?" It came out harsher than I meant it too. Nico didn't get mad though. Instead he asked,

"Why do _you_ care when someone is in pain?"

I didn't have an answer to that. I huffed. "It's not like I can fight it. Sometimes it's too strong!"

"You have to learn to resist. Otherwise..." His voice trailed off.

"Otherwise what?"

He looked at the water, not meeting my eyes.

"Someone could take advantage of you or... It could destroy you."

I looked away. "I know..." I whispered.

"Then why do you still do it?" he asked. I kept my eyes on the water as I answered,

"If you had to live your whole life in pain, but had the power to spare others from going through the same thing... What would you do?"

He didn't answer.

"See you around Nico." And I walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four:**_

_**Disclaimer: I forgot to do this last chapter, but I'm pretty sure you all knew I didn't own PJO or HOO. If you didn't, guess what? I DON"T OWN!**_

I headed to archery. Most of the Hermes campers were already there. I grabbed a bow and quiver of arrows from the weapons shed. The Apollo cabin were instructing us (no surprise). Most of the Hermes kids couldn't shoot a bow to save their lives (Haha, demigod joke). I knew I was as good as any Apollo archer, but I pretended to be average. Occasionally I would get close to a bullseye. Why? Because for once I want to fade into the background.  
After archery I was putting my bow and quiver in the shed when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone staring at me. It was an Apollo camper. He was lean, with muscular arms (no doubt from working with a bow). He had a tan and had dirty blonde hair, darker than most of his siblings. I guessed his mom was hispanic. Being used to having people stare at me, I didn't think anything of it. Untill he went to the Apollo head counselor, Will Solace. The kid whispered to Will. Will raised an eyebrow and they both looked at me. I eyed them suspiciously before leaving.

~*~*~O~*~*~

I managed to get a seat at dinner. Some of the campers weren't happy but I didn't care. I burnt some of my food to the gods. _Dad... please, whoever you are... Help me find acceptance... I don't believe the woman in my dreams... _After dinner, instead of going to the campfire (which I hardly did anyways), I headed back to the archery range. The moon was full and bright, illuminating the targets perfectly. I notched and arrow and inhaled. As I exhaled, I let the arrow fly. I heard the satisfying _THUMP! _as the arrow imbedded itself in the target. Bullseye. Second target. Bullseye. Third target. Bullseye. As I notched a fourth arrow, I heard a twig snap behind me. I whipped around, poised to fire.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy!." Jason said, holding his hands up in surrender. Piper stood next to him. Glaring at them, I lowered my bow.

"How long have you been standing there, and what do you want?" It probably sounded harsh but hey, they snuck up on me.

Jason flushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck before answering, somewhat awkwardly, "Since target two and three."

"As to why we're here," Piper said. "We wanted to make sure you were okay."

"We.. um... didn't mean to uh.. I mean-" Piper laid a hand on Jason's arm and flashed him a quick smile, silencing his stuttering and saving him from more embarrassment. Ever since I healed Jason, he's been acting weird around me. I didn't mind (mostly). I was used to it. Piper turned to me.

"What Jason means is that we didn't mean to spy on you. We were just checking on you." Jason nodded in agreement.

"Well," I said, turning back to the target and notching and arrow. "I'm fine." I let the arrow fly. _THUMP. _Bullseye. Again. I turned back to Jason and Piper. They both looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"When did you learn to shoot like that?" Piper asked. I shrugged putting my bow in the shed.

"About... three or four weeks after I arrived. So..." I paused and thought back. "About five and a half months ago."

They both gaped at me.

"Why do you hide your talent?" Jason asked. I closed the weapons shed and dusted my hands off before answering,

"I have enough attention on me, I don't need any more."

"But what if its positive attention?" Piper asked. I stared at her like she was from Mars.

"Yeah, I'm so sure." My voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Come to the campfire with us!" Jason suddenly blurted. I blinked.

"Do what? No. I'm not going." Piper instantly perked up.

"That's a great idea! Come on, it'll be fun." She smiled her cute smile. I shook my head stubbornly.

"Nope. Not going." Piper raised an eyebrow. She and Jason shared and look. Suddenly they both smiled. I didn't like the look they had. I started backing away.

"Oh no you don't!" Piper said, a devious smile on her face. "You leave me no choice. _You will come to the campfire with_ _us_." I felt her charmspeak start to take effect. Against my will, I felt my feet walking towards the campfire. Piper smiled and linked her arm with mine. I scowled.

"I hate you." I muttered. She kept smiling. Jason walked on my opposite side. Thank the gods he didn't link arms with me too. If he did they would probably start skipping and singing "Off to see the Wizard." I swear on the River Styx I'd kill them. As I was walking, I had a bad feeling, like something big was about to go down. Soon I could see the flames and hear campers singing and laughing. But I still couldn't shake the feeling...

* * *

_**R and R!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter five:**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO! I thought we've been over this...**_

When we arrived at the campfire, everyone seemed to be having a good time. They were singing, laughing, cutting up. I sat towards to back with Jason, Piper, Nico and Annabeth. I mostly just watched the others have fun. After the last song ended, Chiron went to the front and cleared his throat.

"I have an announcement." he said gravely. The campers' mood grew somber. "Satyrs and nymphs have sent word that an army of monsters is gathering on the ruins of Mt. Othrys in California under Gaea's orders. This poses a serious threat for us. So, I propose we send a large group of demigods to eradicate them."  
Everyone began whispering. Most of them had nervous or anxious expressions on their faces.

"It will be dangerous. I would rather not send any of you into harms way. But destroying these monsters will give us an advantage, albeit a poor one, it is still an advantage." He scanned the faces of the campers. "Do we have any volunteers-" Chiron was cut off by a flash of green light from the front row. Green smoke began billowing. Two Apollo campers ran forward with what looked like, _Is that a stool?_ I wondered. _What's going on?!_ Someone on the front row stood up and faced the crowd. It was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the camp Oracle. Her eyes were glowing green and green smoke billowed out of her mouth. She spoke, her voice sounded multiplied.

_"On a quest, six must go,  
Daughter of Apollo will brightly glow,  
A horde of monsters lie in wait,  
A sacrifice, one must make,  
Between two lives, Dove and Owl won't choose  
Without healing, all will lose."_

The smoke snaked back into her mouth, her eyes stopped glowing, and she collapsed. The Apollo guys caught her and set her on the stool in the back to recover. Everyone was stunned. I knew my expression mirrored theirs. If possible, Chiron looked even more grave. Suddenly everyone began talking at once. The campfire, which reflects the campers' mood, was flashing all different colors. Just when I though my head would explode, a girl with brown hair stood up and screamed,

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Instant silence.

"Thank you, Clarisse" Chiron said. I recognized her as the Ares head counselor. She muttered something like "Whatever." and sat down.

"A quest has been issued and a prophecy made. Now, which six campers will go?" he asked.

Annabeth stood. "Between two lives, Dove and Owl won't choose." she quoted. "Dove is Aphrodite and Owl is Athena. So, I volunteer for the quest." She had a determined look on her face. Chiron nodded in approval. Piper, who was sitting next to me, stood.

"I volunteer for the quest." Jason and I gaped at her. I started to feel warm and sick to my stomach. I pushed it down. Jason grabbed Piper's hand.

"Pipes, are you sure?" he asked quietly.

"No." she whispered. He squeezed her hand and stood.

"I'll go too." Chiron nodded at both of them. My temperature was definitely rising. Suddenly the Hephaestus kid, Leo, appeared behind them.

"Where my amigos go, I go." he said, draping his arms over Piper and Jason's shoulders. He grinned like he had WAY too much sugar.

"Leo, are you sure? What about the Argo II?" Piper asked, astonished.

"I have a feeling I need to be on this quest.." he said quietly, so only Jason and Piper could hear. He looked deadly serious. Then his crazy grin returned. Turning to a large Hephaestus girl, he said "Nyssa, you guys can handle a couple of weeks without me, your awesome head counselor, right?"

Nyssa, the large Hephaestus girl, rolled her eyes, sighed, then nodded. "We have your blueprints and Bunker 9. We should be fine."

"Leo, are you absolutely certain this won't affect the Argo II's completion time frame?" Chiron asked worriedly.

Leo, once again unusually serious, nodded.

Chiron sighed. "Very well. That leaves two more." I was so hot I was sweating and my stomach burned. Nico stood and shrugged.

"I don't have anything better to do." Chiron nodded again.

"One left." My stomach felt like acid. I gripped the bench I was sitting on.

"What about the prophesy line, something about a glowing Apollo girl?" Someone shouted.

"Daughter of Apollo will brightly glow." Annabeth recited. "But... who?" Heat poured off my body in waves. I bent over and moaned.

"Thalia? Are you ok?" Piper asked, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Ouch!" she yelled, jerking her hand back. "Gods.. You're burning up!"

I was vaguely aware of everyone staring at me. _Gods... I have to get out of here!_ I stumbled to my feet. As I went to leave, a flash of golden light exploded, blinding me. When I could finally open my eyes, I realized _I_ was the flash of golden light. My skin glowed golden, shimmering golden sparks floated to the ground off my body. My hair floated like it would in water and it was... _blonde._ Everyone stared at me in astonishment. Then the full extent of the situation hit me. Apollo claimed me, I'm glowing, and I'm the one in the prophesy, I was going on a quest, with other people, other people I don't want to see hurt. The prophesy rang in my ears. The heat was overwhelming. I felt like I was going to puke. _B__etween two lives... sacrifice... without healing... all will lose..._ I was hyperventilating. Blood roared in my ears. Jason appeared next to me. He was talking, but I couldn't hear him. He touched my arm. Like Piper, he yanked his hand back. _Oh gods.. I burnt him! I'm hurting people!_ The world began spinning. My knees buckled. Someone caught me. I looked up. The last thing I saw was Leo's worried face above me.

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter six:**_

**A/N I'm back! Sorry for not updating sooner but, holidays! Busy, busy! Hope everyone had a good Christmas! (I did!) Thanks** TearsOfDiamonds **and **Sula Rose **for reviewing! Seriously guys, these reviews mean THE WORLD to me! I love writing but if no one reviews, then I won't write. Painters don't paint just for their pieces to be put in a closet. They want them to be seen and LOVED. So again, THANKS FOR REVIEWING! The next two chapters will be at a slower pace (can't rush stories too much!) But the story WILL pick up! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: You haven't gotten it by now? I DON'T OWN!**

I was on a slope. It was dark and fog covered everything in a thick blanket. It had a creepy feel to it, like walking through an old grave yard at night. I made my way up the slope. As I was walking, I noticed chunks of black stone everywhere. There was a strange moaning, like someone was in pain. Once I reached the top, I looked around. The fog cleared and I saw I was at the ruins of a temple. I looked at the bottom of the slope and gasped. It was an orchard. But not just any orchard, oh no. This was the Garden of the Hesperides. That's when I knew what the black stone was. I was at the ruins of Mount Othrys.

**_"Soon dear... soon.."_**

I shuddered at the sound of her voice.

_**"Soon you will deliver Jason Grace to me. His blood will be spilt on the very site where he killed the Titan Krios. Sad is it not?" **_she asked. _**"Dying on the spot of your greatest victory?" **_She laughed.

"No! I won't do it!" I screamed at her.

_**"How strong are you, Thalia? How much torment can you take before you finally crack, hmm? We shall find out.." **_She laughed again. This time her voice shook the ground. It began crumbling. I tried to run but I couldn't move. The ground sucked at my feet. Finally the ground gave way. I screamed as I fell into a dark oblivion.

~*~*~O~*~*~

My body felt heavy. Even my eyelids felt heavy. And I was cold. Very, very cold. My teeth chattered and I shivered. After awhile I became more aware of my surroundings, even though I didn't open my eyes. I was lying in a bed with a thin sheet over me. There was a pull in my gut. _Someone's here.._ I realized. I turned my head to the left (the source of the pull) and slowly opened my eyes. At first all I could make out was a maniac grin. I tried to ask _"Who are you?"_ but my mouth felt like it was full of sand, so it came out more like a moan.

"You're not going to almost-spontaneously-combust again are you?" Whoever-it-was asked.

"What?" I moaned. Finally my vision cleared. Leo Valdez sat at my bedside. He was constantly moving. Drumming his fingers, running a hand through his hair, pulling parts out of his tool belt and building stuff, then disassembling it just as fast, and he seemed to be having multiple mental conversations in his head (if his facial expressions were anything to go off.) My overloaded brain couldn't keep up.

"I said, _'You're not going to almost-spontaneously-combust again are you?' _So are you?" He grinned, and his expression said he wanted the answer to be _yes_. I rubbed my head. I had a serious headache. I stared at him.

"What in Hades' name is that supposed to mean?!" I demanded. He smirked.

"Well.. You kinda almost blew up last night. Literally. It was so cool." My eyes widened. Everything came rushing back. _Oh. My. Jacked. Up. Gods. _

"What do you mean _COOL__?!_ I could have _DIED_ last night! What is _WRONG _with you?! AND WHAT THE HADES HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?!" I yelled. Leo stared at me in openmouthed shock. _Oh no.. What did I just do? _I expected him to yell back or something but instead he... laughed. He laughed. At me. He laughed at me.

"Man, you're feisty! Jason didn't tell me you had a mean streak!" He kept laughing. I blushed and threw one of my pillows at him.

"Shut up! You're one seriously jacked up fruit-loop.." I said, but I was grinning too. After awhile I realized I was still shivering. "Why is it so c-cold in h-here?" I asked. Leo stopped laughing.

"Actually it's very warm in here. You were so hot we had to... um.. dump you in ice." he said sheepishly. I groaned.

_This day just gets better and better.._ I thought. Leo felt my forehead.

"Dang you're cold!" he said.

"Thank you captain DUH!" I grumbled. He handed me a tall glass of something that looked like apple juice. Necter. I sipped it slowly. It was warm and tasted like the coffee my Pop-Paw would make for me and my dad when I lived in Baton Rouge. It made me homesick, but happy at the same time. When I finished, I was warm from my head to my toes. I thought I had just had a hot cup of coffee, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.

"Better?" Leo asked.

I nodded. "Yes. And Leo?... um.." I blushed and looked down. I wasn't used to thanking people. Mostly because no one ever helped me. "Uh.. thanks.." I mumbled.

"What was that? I didn't hear you." Leo said smirking.

"I said thank you.." I mumbled a little louder.

"What?" Leo was trying not to laugh. He cupped his hand to his ear.

"_I SAID THANK YOU!"_ I yelled.

Leo was laughing hysterically. I slapped him upside the head. Suddenly I heard a conch horn sound in the distance.

"What was that?" I asked.

Leo looked serious. "It's time for the quest meeting. We need to go." The deadline suddenly seemed more real. _I'm leaving soon.. For a quest... And I'm supposed to make sure other people don't die.. Oh gods... NOT good.._ I quickly stood. The world seemed to be spinning. Once again I felt Leo catch me.

"Woah! Slow down. When I said now, I meant time to get ready. Not _'Gone With The Wind'." _He chuckled. I forced a smile.

"Right.. Sorry." I said quietly. I couldn't let him know how terrified I was. Leo put my arm around his shoulder and helped me limp out of the infirmary. He had an odd smell about him. Like motor oil and Tabasco sauce. It was odd, yet comforting somehow.

Leo started singing the tune _'We're Off To See The Wizard'_ but instead sang, "We're off to see the centaur, the wonderful centaur of camp! Because, because, because, because, because... of the wonderful quests he gives!" at the top of his lungs.

"Leo, I swear, if you don't stop singing, _I. WILL. KILL. YOU."_

He just laughed. "Hey, how bout some Skittles? Would Skittles make you feel better?" he asked sweetly. You would almost think he cared, except for the maniac grin he had on his face.

"No, but if you start singing again, _You're gonna taste the_ _rainbow_."I said menacingly.

He stared at me. "Anyone ever tell you you're evil?" he asked seriously. "Cause I think you are."

I smiled sweetly. "Aww, thank you! I try."

Leo burst out laughing. Soon, I was too. We were still laughing when we entered the rec room. Just in time for everyone's attention to turn on us. I gulped.

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	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter seven:**_

**Why yes, this is a second chapter in one day! You're welcome. Haha, anyways, ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan, blah, blah, blah. **

Everyone stared at us. Jason looked from Leo, to me, and back again. He looked confused. Annabeth smiled. Piper looked at me mischievously (which was creeping me out.) And Nico didn't seem to care. The rest of the head counselors just stared at me. Of course, nearly exploding does seem to draw a lot of attention anyways.

"Hey my peeps! The party has arrived! What up?" Leo asked, being his annoying self. The counselors sighed. Some snickered. I rolled my eyes. Jason saw me and snickered. I gave a small smile._  
_

"Ah, there you two are. I didn't know if you would be coming." Chiron said. "Are you feeling better Thalia?" I blushed, having everyone's attention on me.

"Yes sir." I murmured.

"Good. Leo, please help Thalia to her seat. Then we shall begin."

Leo helped me to my seat, then sat on my left. Jason was on my right.

"Now, we all know why we are here. But, we need to discuss what to do about it. _'On a quest, seven must go.'_ Six demigods have already volunteered. _'Daughter of Apollo will brightly glow.'_ And the seventh has been chosen." Chiron said, his eyes flicking to me. Everyone turned to stare at me. I fought to keep my breathing steady. _Stay calm... You can do_ _this.._ I focused solely on Chiron.

"_'A horde of monsters lie in wait.' _That line's meaning is also clear. The rest, however, will not come to pass untill later. Now, shall we discuss transportation?" Chiron asked. Jason nodded.

"How about a plane?" Conner Stoll, co-head counselor for Hermes cabin, asked. "That's probably the fastest option, plus you guys would be off the ground. Safe from Gaia."

I felt the blood drain from my face._ No.. An airport?! There's too many people. Too many people in pain. I wouldn't make it out alive._ _I have to come up with an excuse. Think.. Think... _I fingered the hilt of my knife. A lightbulb went on in my head. _Metal.. that's it!_

"Metal!" I half shouted. Everyone turned to me, shocked that I had spoken up. Heck, I was shocked. I swallowed with difficulty and continued. "Metal detectors.. We can't bring our weapons through an airport." To my surprise, everyone started nodding their heads and mumbling in agreement.

"A valid point, Thalia." Chiron said. _Well.. might as well continue._ I had an idea.

"But I agree with Conner on the point that we need to avoid overland travel... Why not take the pegasi? At least part of the way to San Francisco."

Chiron smiled. "Very good advice. All in favor?" Everyone raised their hands. I sighed in relief.

"Now we come down to when will you leave?" Chiron said. "I propose you leave tomorrow morning."

Nico, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, and Leo nodded. I was shocked still. _So soon? But.. the prophesy! That'll come true and.. A sacrifice.. Oh_ _gods.. _I was pale and had a cold sweat. But I forced myself to look Chiron in the eyes, and nodded. The others began talking about provisions and stuff. I wasn't listening. I stared at my lap, full of fear. I was barely aware when Chiron said "This meeting is adjourned... Thalia? You will stay in the Big House for the night."

I nodded slowly. I jumped when someone grabbed my hand. It was Jason. He looked at me with concern and for a moment... Just for a moment.. I let my fear show. Then I hardened my expression. "Goodnight." I said quietly, before quickly leaving the rec room.

*~*~O~*~*

The sun was setting, it was already behind the trees. I needed to be alone. I jogged to the woods. There was a small footpath. I followed it for about fifteen minutes. It lead me to a small creek. I sat down next to it. "Gods.. how did I get my self into this?.." I muttered. I looked up to the fading sunlight through the trees. "Apollo?... Dad?... Why me? I'm probably the weakest Apollo camper. I've never been on a quest, I'm crippled from my power, and..." My voice choked up, tears stung my eyes. "I'm scared.."

"Perfectly natural." said someone behind me. I jumped, unsheathed my sword, and swung before I even looked to see who it was. "Uh, sorry if I scared you." the guy choked out. I held my sword to his throat. It was the dirty blonde haired kid from archery.

"Who are you? Why'd you sneak up on me?"

"If you take your very sharp sword off my neck, we can talk." He wasn't armed, so I sheathed my sword. He rubbed his neck, eyeing my sword warily. "My name's Marco and well.. I'm your brother. On the godly side." He grinned.

"Why did you follow me?"

"Um.. well... I was sort of spying on the meeting." he said sheepishly. I narrowed my eyes. "Anyway.. I saw that.. well... You didn't look too good. I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Why?" I asked.

"Maybe I'm just a nice guy. Now, are we gonna play fifty questions, or talk?" he asked. He sat down by the creek and looked up at me. He had deep blue eyes. I felt myself relaxing. I sat next to him. "You're not crippled." he said bluntly.

"What?" I asked. He caught me by surprise.

"You're. Not. Crippled." he repeated slowly. "You're one of the most powerful demigods I've ever met."

_Oh no.. he knows my secret. Is he going to tell? No.. please no._ I gulped. "What do you mean?" I whispered.

"When you were unconscious, the first time, Annabeth asked me to come and see what was wrong with you. I can feel people's pain, detect where it is, and how bad it is. I can't heal though. Just find it. When I felt your pain.. it was so much. It literally slammed me into the wall. Which hurt by the way." He smirked. I stared at him in open-mouthed shock. But at the same time, I felt immense relief. _My secret is still safe._ "I have a knot on my head still." he chuckled. "You're stronger than you think." I couldn't help it. I smiled. "It's ok to be scared you know." he said. "I'd be worried if you weren't. Bravery isn't lack of fear. It's doing something even though you're scared."

"Thanks." I said quietly.

Marco smiled. "No problem."

I shook my head. "No. I mean it. Thank you."

We began asking each other questions, learning more about each other. Marco's mom was indeed Hispanic. She was in an all girls Mariachi band when she met Apollo. He was sixteen, a year older than me. He was good at archery (no duh.) He loved music and could sing really well. He had a unique scratchy voice. For once, I felt like I could open up. I had an older brother. As if reading my mind he asked, "Have you ever opened up to anyone?"

I looked down. "No.."

"It's not good to hold stuff in you know." _If only he knew.._

"When I be myself.. I usually get rejected. So I quit trying."

"I would never reject you. Besides... We're family. I'm stuck with you." he smirked. I found out he had a signature smirk. It was similar to the Hermes' kids, mischievous. "I triple dog _dare _you, to be completely one hundred percent yourself for two whole minutes."

I sighed. "Fine."

"Ready... Go!" he shouted.

"What do you want me to do?" His jaw dropped as he heard my southern drawl. Then he fell over laughing. I couldn't help it either. Soon we were rolling in laughter.

"Seriously?" he asked between fits of laughter. "This whole time, you had a country accent?"

I nodded. "Yeah. And I've pretended I can't shoot a bow well." Marco immediately stopped laughing. He sat up and stared at me.

"What?" he asked.

_Did I say something wrong?_

"I don't believe you."

I gaped at him. "_WHAT?"_

"I don't believe you... You'll just have to prove it to me tomorrow. We can meet at the range before you leave."

"You're on."

He smiled. "Come on. Let's go to the campfire. I think we missed dinner." That's when I realized how late it was. Marco stood and helped me up. "Wanna go?"

"Sure." _This night is full of firsts. _I thought happily. I sat with Marco at the campfire. We sang and laughed and had fun. _This is the best night I've ever_ _had._ Afterwards Marco walked me to the Big House.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked. I nodded.

"Wouldn't miss it." I hugged him. "Thanks Marco. You're the best big brother I've ever had." He hugged me back.

"Anything for you, little sis."

I went to the guest room and crashed on the bed. I smiled as I fell asleep. And immediately got sucked into a nightmare, the worst one I'd ever had.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter eight:_**

**A/N Thanks **the girl who hears it all**, **narisadar**, and **Guest **who reviewed! I was STOKED! Can we try for 5 reviews for this chapter? They make me so happy ^-^ Anyways I hope y'all enjoy and I apologize if anyone seems OOC.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO yada yada. On with the story!**

It was foggy and dark. There were lumps of black all over the ground. _Am I back at Mount Othrys? _I wondered. Suddenly there was an explosion of orange light. The fog dispersed. Before me was Camp Half-blood, and it was on fire. Flames covered everything; the cabins, the Big House, the woods. The smoke and ash was suffocating. I could hear nature spirits screaming in agony as their life sources burned to the ground. My eyes welled up with tears. _I have to help them!_ I ran as fast as I could. Something tripped me and I fell down hard. It was one of the black lumps. As I looked closer, I knew what it was. It was a burnt body. All the lumps were _bodies. _Tears streamed down my face. All my friends were dead. My _family _was dead. **_"This will be your fate if you do not serve me. You will watch your precious camp be destroyed and your friends die. Give me Jason Grace."_**the woman said.

"No! You can't have him!" I screamed.

_**"I must have a sacrifice. If not Jason, then who? Which of your friends will you choose, hmm?"**_

The faces of my friends flashed before my eyes. Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Nico, Leo, and lastly Marco. "I won't do it! I don't know who you are, but you must be insane if you think I'll let you kill one of my friends!"

The woman chuckled. _**"You really don't know who I am? And here I thought you were smart. Let me show you."** _Suddenly, the ground in front of me turned to a sinkhole of mud. I stumbled back. The mud began swirling. A column of mud rose up, it slid and shifted untill the figure of a sleeping woman appeared. She smiled sleepily. _**"Now do you know who I am?"**_

Utter horror coursed through my body as I realized who stood before me. "Gaia.." I whispered.

**_"Yes, dear. Now that you realize you can't beat me, which of your friends will die?"_**

"No.. I can beat you.." I said, but my voice sounded small.

**_"You leave tomorrow to take on my forces. You have untill you reach San Francisco to decide what friend will die."_**

"And if I don't choose?"

_**"Then I will choose for you."**_ And she melted back into the mud. The ground began shaking, buildings started to collapse. Earthen hands came out of the ground. They grabbed at me, pulling me down into the mud. I was buried up to my shoulders and quickly sinking. I looked up to the sky desperately, hoping someone would rescue me. No one was there. I screamed as the earth covered my face and went into my lungs. Then darkness.

~*~*~O~*~*~

I woke up screaming. My first thought was, _Where am I?_ For one, I was sleeping in a bed. I didn't have a bed in the Hermes cabin. The room was also _a lot _cleaner than the Hermes cabin. Everything came rushing back, including the nightmare. I looked at the bedside clock. _6:05am. _None of the campers would be up yet. I climbed out of the bed. The floor was freezing against my bare feet. Someone brought my suitcase to my room in the middle of the night. I grabbed a clean pair of jeans, a yellow t-shirt, and a black zip up hoodie, then hit the shower. The water quickly warmed me up. I threw on my grey and pink Nike's. They were the only girlie thing I owned. I let my hair dry into its naturally curly, messy, shape. I grabbed my sword and shrunk it to the size of a dagger. It was quiet out, so I decided to go jogging by the lake. As I was jogging, I cleared all my thoughts. Focusing on just my feet. After awhile, I saw something move in my peripheral vision. I looked up to see Nico DiAngelo appear out of the shadows. _Literally _appear. I tried to stop, and ended up flat on my back with skinned hands. "Oof!" I said, as I hit the ground. Nico looked down at me.

"Are you ok?" He held his hand out. I gratefully took it.

"Yeah. I'm used to having goth kids appear out of thin air. It's gotten really annoying lately."

His lips twitched up into something that resembled a smile. "I have a habit of freaking people out."

"Huh.. You seemed like such a bucket of sunshine."

He smirked. "You always sarcastic?"

"One of my finer qualities." Just then the morning horn sounded. "I gotta go." I said.

Nico nodded. "See you later." I nodded and started to jog to the pavilion. By the time I got there, half the cabins were there. I saw Marco. He waved me over. _Oh yeah.. I don't have to sit with the Hermes cabin anymore. I have siblings! _I went and sat at the Apollo table. That's when I realized something. All my siblings were _blonde. _And I wasn't. The only time I'd ever been blonde was when Apollo claimed me. The other Apollo kids watched me suspiciously. I tried for a smile, but I don't think I succeeded. Marco leaned in close to me.

"Don't worry. They're just not used to you yet. It's normal." he whispered. I wasn't sure if he meant it or if he was just trying to reassure me. I nodded. When I went up the brazier, I scooped a more generous portion than usual. _Apollo.. Dad? Can you please help me find acceptance among my siblings? Show them I'm like them. That I can carry the name Apollo. Please? _I ate my breakfast chatting quietly with Marco. Afterwards, Marco grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the pavilion. "Where are we going?" I asked. He grinned.

"To prove to me you can shoot!"

I laughed. Once we got there. I went into the weapons shed and grabbed my bow and quiver. Marco stood with his arms crossed. "Watch and learn buddy."

He shook his head, smiling. I notched an arrow. "Well would you look who it is! The daughter of Apollo who can't shoot." said a sarcastic voice behind me. I lowered my bow and turned. Drew and two of goonies stood behind me. Drew is an asian looking daughter of Aphrodite that has an obsession with pink eyeliner. She's the most bitter and hateful daughter of Aphrodite that ever lived. The polar opposite of Piper in every way. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you want, Drew? A makeover?" Her backup girls had wide eyes. I'd never fought back with Drew. Or anyone for that matter. Drew however just raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm. So you _do _have a voice. I thought you were dumb."

"Just leave her alone, Drew." Marco said.

"Oh, the wittle gurl needs her big bruther to rescue her?" Drew asked, making a pouty lip.

"No she does not!" I shot Marco a look that said _'Stay out of it.' _"Drew, go be bitter somewhere else."

Drew laughed. "Ooh! Now she put on her big girl pants and is trying to be my mother!"

"Yeah, let's insult the girl with a weapon in her hand." I realized a large crowd had gathered around to watch.

Drew scoffed. "Why? It's not like you know how to use it. I'm beginning to wonder if you're even a child of Apollo at all."

That crowd _oohed. _By this point, I was ticked. That was the last straw. I turned around and faced the target. I fired one arrow after the other. When I was done, I turned back to Drew and the crowd. Drew was laughing hysterically. The rest of the crowd just gaped at the target.

"Did you see that?" Drew asked between fits of laughter. "She didn't land one arrow in the bullseye!"

"Uh Drew?" A Aphrodite girl with blonde pigtails and braces tapped Drew's shoulder.

"What?" Drew snapped, turning to her. The girl hesitantly pointed to the target. Drew looked and her mouth dropped. On the target was a smiley face made of arrows. I turned back to the target and fired one last arrow. Bullseye. Mr. Smiley Face now had a nose. Suddenly golden sparks exploded from my bow. They showered down, covering me and my bow. It turned my bow and quiver golden. As gold as the sun. And my hair took on a red tint. Like the sunset. I turned to Drew with my new gold bow.

"Yeah.. I think I am a daughter of Apollo." And too my surprise, the crowd burst into applause. Even more surprising, the whole Apollo cabin came and clapped me on the back. I noticed a note on my bow. There was writing on it, in gold ink. It said,

_Dear Thalia,  
I'm sorry about the hardships you have faced. And I'm even more sorry to say they will only get worse. But you are destined to be a great hero. The one who will be the savior of the quest. As you may have noticed, your bow and quiver are now gold (pretty cool, huh?) Anyway, its name is Fo__s. Which is Greek for 'light'. If you don't want to carry it, simply toss it in the air. Your bow and quiver will vanish. But never fear! Just make a grasping motion with your hand and you bow will appear in hand and your quiver strapped to your back. I hope it will serve you well. Be careful and do me proud.  
Apollo.  
_

"Thanks Dad.." I whispered. I threw my bow up in the air. Sure enough, it vanished in a flash of light. My quiver was gone too. Everyone gasped. I made a grasping motion with my hand. A shower of golden sparks exploded from my hand. And there was my golden bow. My quiver was strapped to my back. I smiled smugly at Marco. "Now do you believe me?"


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter nine:**_

**A/N Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I was struggling with this chapter. On the bright side, I have a ton of ideas for the rest of the story! There will be polls later on, so heads up! Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Keep them coming! **

Marco lead me to the Apollo cabin. When we walked in, I gasped in amazement. It was _nothing _like I imagined it to be. I expected the inside to look like the exterior; gold. But it wasn't. The first thing that caught my eye was the huge skylight. The whole ceiling was just one big skylight. There were beds along the left side, all the sheets seemed to reflect the sunlight in different hues. Along the right wall was what looked like a bow repair shop. Campers were carving bows, making arrows, checking the balance of arrows, testing the bow strings. Then along the back wall was a bunch of medical stuff. There was a CPR practice dummy, first aid kits, poultices, herbs, ambrosia, nectar. I turned to Marco, amazement written on my face. He smirked.

"Like it?" he asked.

"Well, duh!"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Come on, let me show you your bunk." When we got to my bunk, I was confused. My bedding was stark white. I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"Touch it." he said. I was still confused, but I did as he asked. As soon as I touched it, there was a shower of golden sparks. Then the blankets began to _change colors. _They took on the exact color as the sun was overhead. Bright yellow with shimmering sparkles.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"The sheets take on a hue of the sun that best matches your personality. Though they have never sparkled before.." He looked at me curiously. I shrugged. I examined my bed space. It looked nice and cozy. The blanket was plush, there was a trunk at the foot of the bed, and the headboard was a mini closet. The one thing that puzzled me was two hooks on the wall.

"What are those for?" I asked Marco, pointing at the hooks.

"Oh, those are for your bow and quiver. Though now, I don't think you need it."

I chuckled. "Guess not." As I looked around at the other bunks, I realized everyone had hooks for their bows and quivers. I turned back to my bunk. I couldn't believe it was all mine. "Is this really mine?" I asked.

Marco nodded. "Yep!"

Just then, Leo burst into the cabin. "Thalia, Chiron wants to talk with us." he said, panting.

I nodded to him, then turned back to Marco. "Thanks again, Marco." I said.

He looked confused. "For what?"

"Everything."

"Uh, you're welcome." I hugged him then went to join Leo . He was really out of breath.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah.. I'm.. fine.. Working.. double time.. on Argo.. II.. before.. leave.." I nodded in understanding.

"Come on Valdez." I let him lean on me as we walked to the Big House. Everyone was already there. I helped Leo inside. I let go of him, thinking he'd be fine. Instead he collapsed onto the couch.

"Leo, are you ok?" Jason asked.

Leo nodded. "Argo.. working.. hard.. out of.. breath.." I was dusting my shoulders off, when I smelled something. I sniffed my jacket and wrinkled my nose. _Ugh.. Motor oil. _Piper smiled at me sympathetically.

"Children, I'm glad you are all here. Now, you leave at noon on the pegasi. Pack light, only necessities. One change of clothes, nectar, ambrosia, and anything else you need. Nothing extra or unnecessary." He looked pointedly at Leo.

"What? I can fit everything into my handy dandy tool belt. No extra bulk."

Chiron sighed. I had a feeling there was a mishap with Leo and extra, um, items. I looked questioningly at Piper and mouthed _'What did he do?' _She rubbed her temples like she had a migraine. _'Explosives.'_ she mouthed back. I smirked.

"Now, I want you to go pack, practice as much as you can, and be ready on time. This quest will be very dangerous and very difficult. Gaia is powerful and her army is strong. But I believe you all can do it together. And remember, prophecies can have double meanings."

_Yeah.. Sacrifice can mean anything. _I thought. Not very upbeat, I know.

"Now go. And may the gods be with you."

We all nodded and went our separate ways. I went to the Apollo cabin. I couldn't help thinking about the prophecy lines as I went to my bunk. My suitcase was waiting for me. I grabbed my backpack out of my suitcase. It was black with _'I heart London' _on it. The heart had a Union Jack print. I had never been to london, but always dreamed of going. I threw a pair of jeans and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt in my bag. I changed into a pair of combat boots and threw my tennis shoes into my backpack. _'Ambrosia and nectar.. Where to get-'_ I face-palmed and went to the back wall of the cabin. There was pre-made baggies of ambrosia and canteens of nectar. I grabbed one large canteen and a pocket sized one. Then I got two large baggies of ambrosia. What? It's my first quest and I want to be prepared. At least, that's what I was telling myself. I shoved the small canteen in my pocket and put the other stuff in my bag. When I turned around, Marco stood behind me. He surprised me so much I shrieked and fell on my bunk.

"Woah hey! Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." He crouched next to me. "Are you ok? You didn't bump your head or anything?" I smiled sweetly at him. Then punched him in the arm. "Ouch!" he yelled.

"That's for giving me a heart attack!" I yelled back. I brushed my hair out of my face. "How long you been standing there anyway?"

"Pretty much the whole time."

"And you didn't say nothin'?"

Mark smirked at my accent coming through. "It's creepy how you do that. Anyway, even if I said something I doubt you would have heard me. You were so wrapped up in whatever was in your head."

I just rolled my eyes. I looked at my watch. _10:45. _"Just enough time to spar. Wanna come?"

"Nah, I have to go teach the Hermes cabin archery."

I cringed. "Yeah... Good luck with that."

He laughed.

~*~*~O~*~*~

I faced the dummy. I charged. Ducked. Spun on my heel. Stabbed. Kicked. Rolled. Slashed. Bashed. By the time I was done, I was sweaty and covered in dirt. As I was walking out, Jason came in. He did a double take.

"Uh.. Intense training?"

I nodded, out of breath. "There's one.. dummy.. left.."

He peeked inside. "Wow.. Um remind me not to tick you off."

I swung my sword in a circle before sheathing it. "Don't worry, I will." He looked nervous after I said that. "I'm kidding."

He smiled, looking relieved.

"See you later." I said. And I left for my cabin. I had to take a shower. Afterwards, I was dressed in my Batman shirt, jeans, and combat boots, and a (hopefully) better smelling black hoodie (I tried my best). Again I looked at my watch. _11:45. Time to go. _I grabbed my bag and left for Half-Blood hill. When I got there, no one was there. Except Peleus the dragon. He was curled up around Thalia's (the original Thalia) tree, guarding the golden fleece. Oh in case you didn't know: Percy and Annabeth (along with some of their friends) went and got the Golden Fleece from the Sea of Monsters to save Thalia's tree because it was poisoned by Luke who was one of Annabeth and Thalia's (again, _original_) friends who was working for Kronos the Titan King to help him rise last year but that's skipping ahead so anyway they were originally going to save their satyr friend Grover who also brought Percy and Annabeth to camp and he had gotten kidnapped by a cyclops who lured satyrs to his island using the power of the Golden Fleece so they thought it was the lost god Pan so they found Grover and got the fleece and used it to heal Thalia's (the- oh nevermind, you know who I mean!) tree and when it was healed she came out of the tree that her father Zeus turned her into to save her life because she saved Annabeth and Grover and Luke's lives... **(A/N That sentence was rushed on purpose!)** Did you get all that? Didn't think so. Anyway, I went up to Peleus and scratched under his chin. He made this rumbling noise, like purring, and crossed his eyes in pleasure. I chuckled softly. Suddenly I heard a _thump, thump, thump _sound. At first I was wary at what it could be, but then I looked at Peleus and saw he was unconcerned. Black spots started to appear on the ground. I looked up and gasped in amazement. Seven pegasi circled overhead. Then one by one they landed. I could tell who was the leader of the herd. A tall, black pegasus with raven wings stood at the head. Two white pegasi flanked him. The rest stood behind them. There was a tan one, a dark brown one, and a dark grey one. I approached the black one. His head was down. As if he was depressed._  
_

"Hey Blackjack." I said. He didn't pick his head up, but his ear swerved in my direction like, _'Yes? And who are you?' _I smiled. "My name's Thalia." I paused. "Well, not the Thalia you know. I named myself after her. Anyway, I knew Percy briefly. That's how I know you." He still didn't pick his head up. I didn't know what was wrong. Percy said that Blackjack was always happy-go-lucky. Percy... That's when it hit me. "Oh Blackjack... You were looking for Percy when you got called back to camp. I'm so sorry." I bent down in front of him, petting his cheek. "This means a lot to me. We have to avoid overland travel because that's where Gaia is strongest. Without you, we'd have to take a plane. I have the power to take people's pain away, but I have to take the pain in my own body. If we went to an airport, there'd be so many people in pain that I wouldn't make it out alive. You saved my life Blackjack. I'll always remember that. Thank you. I miss Percy too. He used to be my only friend. We'll find him." Blackjack finally picked his head up. He knickered at me. I continued petting his mane. I remember Percy saying that Blackjack loved flattery. "You're one handsome pegasus." He tossed his head like _'Of course I am!' _I laughed. I turned my attention to the white pegasi on either side of Blackjack. "Which one of you is Porkpie?"  
The one on the right tossed its head. "Nice to meet you." I said. I turned to the pegasus on the right. "And you're Guido." He tossed his head. I rubbed both their noses.

"Well, looks like someone has already made friends." I turned to see Annabeth coming up the hill. She wore her usual Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, jeans, celestrial bronze dagger, and camp necklace. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail and she had a brown knapsack on her back.. I gave a small smile. Jason and Piper came behind her. Jason wore his Roman purple t-shirt, jeans, and had a borrowed sword hanging by his side. He had a plain black backpack slung over his shoulder. Piper had on jeans and a purple My Little Pony shirt on (I wasn't sure if that was a joke or not..). The pony was blue with rainbow hair. I don't do My Little Pony so I had no clue which one it was. So I just settled for 'Hippie the pony.' She had a blue, purple, and pink peacock feather braided in her hair and her knife, Katropis, on her hip. She had an old, faded black backpack with little pink flowers on it. Leo came behind them. He had a solid orange shirt with black marker writing that said, _'Leo the Great'_ on it and jeans. His tool belt was around his waist and he had one of those kiddie _Hotwheels _backpacks that was black with flames on it. That left Nico trailing behind them all, his hands shoved in his aviator jacket. He was still in all black, his sword by his side. He had a black leather knapsack with a skull clasp.

"I see you met Blackjack, Porkpie, and Guido. How did you know their names?" Annabeth asked.

"Percy." I replied simply. She nodded.

"Well, let me introduce the others. That one is Dusty," She pointed to the tan one. "That one is Starburst," She pointed to the brown one. "And that one is Shadow." She pointed to the dark grey one.

"Why is that one called Starburst?" Piper asked. Annabeth went to the brown one and brushed its mane off its forehead. There was a white star marking on with little white lines around it.

"Oh wow.." Piper breathed. "I call dibs!" she yelled. Running over to Starburst.

Jason and Leo smiled mischievously at each other before shouting "Dibs!" and raced each other. Jason ran to Dusty and Leo ran to Guido. Nico hung back looking very reluctant. Finally he made his way over to Shadow. Shadow began dancing nervously away, he snorted and whinnied. I went over to Nico.

"It's no use!" Nico said, disgusted. "Pegasi hate me."

"Here, let me try." I said, kindly. "Shadow.. Shadow calm down.. There you see? It's ok. Good boy." Shadow calmed down and stood still as I petted him gently. "This quest is really important. And Nico is really important too. He won't hurt you. Come on. Do it for me, please?" I motioned Nico over with my head. When he got close, I grabbed his hand and put it on Shadow's nose. "See? He's nice." They both stilled seemed to be wary of each other, but it was a start.

"Ah children, I see you're all ready to go." Chiron said. I turned and saw he was in centaur form. We nodded. "I've come to see you off. Remember, this will be dangerous. You will have to rely on each other. Gaia will try her best to stop you. Do not let her divide you."

Again, we all nodded. The others began mounting their pegasi. I figured Annabeth would ride Blackjack, so I went over to Porkpie. I felt something bump my shoulder. I turned and was surprised to see Blackjack following me.

"What is it?" I asked. He turned sideways and lowered his wings.

"He wants you to ride him." Annabeth said. "He usually only lets me or Percy ride him. He must really like you." She smiled. "Go ahead, I'll ride Porkpie."

I couldn't help smiling too. I mounted Blackjack and settled between his raven wings.

"Good luck children. And may the gods be with you." Chiron said. He raised a hand in farewell.

Without further prompting, the pegasi began galloping. They spread their wings in sync. With a huge flap of their wings, we went air born. I shrieked and held on for dear life. When I finally opened my eyes, we were high up in the sky. _This is it. _I thought. _We are on our way. The quest has started._

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**Last chapter I asked you guys or 5 reviews. Sadly, we didn't make it. So can we try again? Those reviews mean a lot to me! Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged! Thanks guys. Y'all are amazing!**_  
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**_Thalia Bolt_  
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	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Ok so four reviews. Not five, but close enough. On the bright side, we've reached over 500 views! Anyway, thanks for the four reviews! I love when I get them! Ok so I'll accept suggestions and answer any questions.**

why not try again: i really like your description of the Apollo cabin. **Thanks! I wanted a different interpretation than something Rick Riordan would write.**

i heart sea spawn: CONTINUE THIS STORY OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN! *note the sarcasm * **Duly noted. Um.. just don't... you know, kill me or anything. I have NO intention of abandoning this story. It's way to close to my heart. :)**

narisadar: keeeeeeeep writing! this is gold! **One of the perks of being a child of Apollo. ;) Thank you sooo much!**

ReaderOfManyFantasticWords: This is an amazing stort :) **Thank you! And thanks for reading! Huge thanks to everyone who read my story. It means A LOT to me!**

**Disclaimer: I keep forgetting this.. :/ Anyway, I don't own PJO or HOO. Sadly... :(**

We were flying.  
"Oh gods.. oh gods.." I muttered over and over. Annabeth (on Porkpie) flew closer to me.

"You ok?" she yelled over the sound of the wind.

"Yeah.. just a little.. _gulp_.. scared." I yelled back.

Leo laughed. "A daughter of Apollo, scared of heights? That's almost as funny as a daughter of Zeus!" Jason shot him a look. Leo stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "Sorry bro."

"I'm not scared of heights." I shouted. "I'm scared of falling off a pegasus and hitting the ground from very high up."

Leo laughed again. We flew for hours, I mostly lost in thought. Around 4:00 in the afternoon, we decided to land and stretch. We stopped in a clearing in the woods, right outside New York. We got off the pegasi stiffly, except for Leo. He just rolled off Guido's back and hit the ground with a groan.

"I can't feel my butt.." he whined.

"No one can." Nico grunted. I plopped down on the ground and used my backpack as a pillow. Vaguely I was aware of the others talking. I watched the clouds pass and the trees sway in the breeze.

"What are you looking at?" I turned my head and saw Nico sitting next to me.

I shrugged. "Just the sky... It's nice just to watch. Let your mind wander, not focusing or thinking about anything important."

He nodded in understanding. "An escape.." He had a far away expression on his face. I guessed he was thinking about his sister. Again I felt his pain, literally. I reached my hand towards him. "I said don't." His voice had an edge to it.

"But why?" I asked.

"I just said no."

I sighed in exasperation. "You're going to have to tell me sometime.." I muttered. I turned my attention back to the sky, and gasped.

"What is it?" Nico asked.

"Wasn't the sky clear like, five minutes ago?" The sky was dark grey and the wind had picked up. I stood and studied our surroundings, listening for anything. Suddenly, far in the distance, a funnel cloud appeared. "Oh gods.." I murmured. Then four more clouds appeared. "Guys... We got company!" I shouted.

"How much you wanna bet those are storm spirits?" Leo asked. We all drew our weapons. The storm spirits were approaching fast. Four of them looked like black horses, the fifth one was wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey and had Superman's hair. Leo groaned, Jason sighed, and Piper looked like she was going to beat the storm spirit over the head with her flower backpack.

"Dylan.." she growled.

"Hey hot stuff. What up?" the storm spirit, Dylan, asked. He smiled, one of those blinding toothpaste commercial smiles. I already didn't like him.

"I thought we already killed you, you-" She then proceeded to call 'Dylan' some... unpleasant names. "Go to Hades!" she ended.

"Sorry sweet cheeks, but if anyone is going to Hades, it'll be you and four of your friends."

"What about the sixth?" I asked. Dylan turned to me.

"The sixth will be sacrificed to Gaea." He winked at me. _Oh no..._ Then they attacked. Piper and Leo went after Dylan, Jason and Annabeth took on the second and third spirit, Nico the fourth, me the fifth. How do you fight a storm spirit? Swing wildly and hope for the best. No matter what we did, we couldn't kill them. Our weapons had no effect, neither did Leo's fire. Jason called down lightning which successfully dispelled one storm spirit, but I knew that drained him. That gave the storm spirits the same idea. They began firing lightning from their hooves. Dylan laughed the whole time. Lightning struck the ground a few feet away from me with a _BOOM_, blasting me backward. The wind was knocked out of me. When my vision cleared, Nico stood over me, fighting off the spirits.

"You hurt?" he asked.

"No." I coughed.

Finally Annabeth called out, "Retreat!" Nico helped me to my feet and we took off running to the pegasi. I sheathed my dagger and hopped on Blackjack.

"Go!" I yelled. He took off. The spirits pursued us. My hair was blowing all over the place, and I could hardly see.

"Hey Thalia!" Dylan called out. My blood went cold and my heart raced. "Yes, I know who you are. I heard you're afraid of falling, that true?"

I didn't answer.

"Not going to answer? Well, there is only one way to find out.." Suddenly, something yanked my arm so hard I thought it might dislocate. I screamed as I was pulled off Blackjack. Dylan held me by my arm, my feet dangled thousands of feet above the ground. Blackjack tried to rescue me but the other spirits blew him back. I tried to grab my dagger. Dylan yanked my arm. I cried out again.

"Uh uh uh! I wouldn't do that!" Dylan said. He had a twisted smile on his face. "I'd hate to hurt you.." he whispered. His voice sent shivers down my spine. I didn't like the way he was looking at me.

"Hey!" Jason shouted. Dylan yanked me around so I was facing the others, my back against his chest. He had one arm around my waist, the other he used to draw my dagger and held it against my neck.

"Come any closer and I slit her throat!" Dylan shouted.

"Yo! Not cool Dylan!" Leo yelled.

"What do you want?" Jason asked.

"You are going to land and surrender yourselves to Gaea."

"Don't do it!" I shouted.

"Shut up!" Dylan growled, digging the knife into my skin.

"My... Aren't you a charmer." I said smirking. I saw Piper snicker. Dylan leaned his head close to my ear.

"Keep it up and I'll show you just how.. _charming _I can be. Once your friends surrender, I can't wait to get more.. _acquainted_ with you." His arm slid tighter around my waist. My smirk fell and the color drained from my face. Dylan laughed darkly. Dylan was _seriously _starting to scare me. I found Jason's eyes. He sent me a silent question, _'Are you ok?'_ My expression was clear: _'No.' _Jason's expression hardened. He turned his attention back to Dylan.

"Dylan, let her go." he said. I thought Dylan would say something like _'No.' _But instead he said,

"You know, that's a great idea!" Jason furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Nico's eyes widened.

"Jason-" he warned. That's when Dylan let go of me and I fell.

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**Cliffhanger! So review! Like? Love? Don't like? Hate? I need to know these things! R and R! There will be a poll next chapter! Love ya guys!**

**_Thalia Bolt_  
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	11. Chapter 11

**A/N :( What happened to all my wonderful reviewers? You guys are disappearing on me! Come back! Please? This chapter is short because I wasn't sure how to finish it. Which is where I REALLY NEED YOU GUYS! See end of chapter for details. Thanks!**

i heart sea spawn: Like... Nah. Its more like LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. pretty please don't leave me on a cliffhanger! (For too long anyway). **Thank you! I'm really glad you loved it! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. :) **

Louisa4533: It's pretty obvious that Thalia will survive, and maybe even do something epic on the way down (like shoot Dylan in the eye) before Jason catches her. But if you take her out of the story, it's signing the rest's death warrants. **No, she's (me) not dead. This story isn't done yet! She still has a ways to go! Keep reading though! Thanks!**

I screamed as I fell, hurtling towards the earth. I looked up and could see the others rapidly growing smaller. I prayed that someone, anyone, would save me. The ground was rushing up to meet me. I turned my back to the ground, I didn't want to see it. I had a split second thought of the others, and Dylan. _If I'm going down, so is he! _I grasped the air, making my bow appear. I knew it would be a long shot (literally) that I would hit Dylan, but I had to try. I notched an arrow and fired. All this took a matter of seconds. _This is it... This is how I die.. _I let go of my bow, it disappeared, raining gold sparks. I felt like my stomach was lodged in my throat. Adrenaline pounded in my veins. Tears floated up, lost in the wind. I felt utter hopelessness flood through me. I closed my eyes for what I thought would be the last time.  
Suddenly there was a golden explosion. My eyes flew open. I smiled sadly as I saw sparks rain everywhere. My arrow had found its mark. A blast of wind hit me turning me so I was face down. I couldn't help it. I looked down. The ground was _very_ close. More tears floated away. Suddenly I felt someone's arms around my stomach, knocking the breath out of me. _Oh gods.. Dylan!_ I panicked. I began struggling. _Dying is better than getting caught by Dylan... _I thought. We were about ten feet from the ground. I kept struggling. I could hear Dylan grunting as he tried to hold me down. Something didn't sound right with his voice, but I ignored it. When we were about five feet above, I broke free. I fell. I used the few seconds I had to look up at Dylan. But it wasn't Dylan. It was Jason, looking terrified. Then I hit the ground. Jarring pain shot up my spine. My head throbbed horribly. I rolled several times before coming to a stop. Through blurry vision I saw the others rushing towards me. Nico reached me first. He crouched next to me and gently brushed my hair out of my face.

"Sleep." he whispered softly.

I lost consciousness.

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**Congrats to Louisa4533 for guessing correctly! Your cookies ^-^ (::) (::) (::) ^-^**

**_!MAJORLY IMPORTANT NEWS!_ I have a poll on my profile that you HAVE TO VOTE ON! The next chapter depends on it! I'm not sure who's POV (point of view) the next chapter should be in. Should I skip to Thalia when she wakes up? Third POV? Or one of the quest members and see what they saw? _PLEASE_ VOTE! You guys rock!  
**

**_Thalia Bolt_  
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	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

**A/N Oh my gosh guys I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've just been busy lately, lots of youth events at my church! No worries though! I'll work harder at keeping up. Huge thanks to everyone who voted on my poll! The results are IN! You guys voted for *drumroll*... THALIA! Thanks again for voting! Ideas and suggestions welcome! I was SOOOO HAPPY when I got 5 reviews on one chapter! Keep them coming!**

xXWiseGirlXx: OK :D loved the chapter as always :) **Aw thanks! I try :)**

i dream of faraway places: Hi. Even though it was a bit short, that chapter was still good. XD **Sorry it was short! This one will be longer, and thanks!**

why not try again: i think the next should be Jason b/c he caught her. **Sorry! Poll results said Thalia! :) **

Louisa4533: Yum! Did you write the chapter before I guessed that or did you base it off of my review? If it's the first one: OH MY GODS I'M PSYIC (however the heck you spell that)! If it's the second one: Cool! I'm honored.

A little bit short, but needed all the same.

Third person sounds good. Or maybe Thalia's POV. It would be better for the reader to see it from Thalia's POV (or puzzled-ness).

Have a great three-day weekend if you live in the US! **I had thought of the idea, but wasn't sure if I should put it in the story. Until I saw your review that is! So I guess both! (I think it's spelled psychic...?) Thanks for reviewing! This chapter is for you!**

BeautifulMystery23: Well this is a pretty good story but you need to explain it more. Like how did the others get down? And if nico was the first to reach her why couldn't itve been Jason, he was closer? **All you questions will be answered in this chapter! The last chapter was purposely confusing because Thalia was confused. Thank you for the reviews guys! You are all amazing!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own PJO or HOO and all the epicness it entitles...**

I slowly blinked my eyes. The world was dark and foggy again. I was laying on the ground, the same position after falling.

**_"Foolish half-blood..." _**_She_ stepped out of the fog. Her head tilted down as if she was looking at me, but her eyes remained closed. Her voice had a tinge of amusement. _**"I wouldn't kill you so quickly... You still have an important role to play in my plan. Tell me, have you decided which of your friends will be** **sacrificed?"** _

I groaned, partly in annoyance partly in pain. "Gaea... I swear I'll-" I tried to sit up, but earthen hands grew from the ground and pinned my shoulders down. Gaea loomed over me.

_**"You WILL choose. You will choose, or I will." **_She smiled sleepily. _**"And you don't want that, do you?"**_

I glared at her in silence.

_**"Now, I think it's time you woke up. Goodbye little hero.."**_ She turned and began to walk away, as the earthen hands started to pull me into the ground. I struggled against them, which amounted to nothing. They were too strong. Suddenly she half turned back to me.

**_"And Thalia, dear? Dylan is looking forward to a reunion. You made quite a... IMPRESSION on him."_ **

The last thing I heard was Gaea's chilling laugh.

~*~*~O~*~*~

It took herculean strength to open my eyes. My head pounded painfully. It was nighttime. I was laying on the ground and covered with a blanket. _Wait... Nighttime? I've been out too long! The quest, the army!_ I got to my feet quickly. _Big_ mistake. The world spun and I stumbled to keep my balance. I was in a clearing somewhere in the woods. There was a campfire and sleeping bags on the ground, but no people. _Did Gaea capture the others? If so, then where am I? How did I get here? Am I in danger? What happened?_ My thoughts were racing. _I have to find out what happened to the others!_ I stumbled towards the trees that lined the clearing. I made it a few steps before my knees buckled. I hit the ground hard. Faintly I felt someone roll me onto my back. Through blurry vision I saw blonde hair and blue eyes. My eyes closed.

The taste of nectar brought me around. My eyes fluttered open. Jason's worried blue eyes hovered above me.

"Thalia, can you hear me?" he asked. The pounding in my head wasn't near as bad as it was.

I nodded.

Jason sighed in relief. "Thank the gods."

"What happened? How long have I been out? Are the others okay?" I asked. Jason smiled.

"Everyone is fine, thanks to you." He gestured behind him. The others sat around the fire, watching us anxiously. Jason helped me sit up. Piper and Annabeth ran over and hugged me.

"I'm glad you're okay!" Piper said. Annabeth smiled and nodded in agreement.

"That was the most epic free fall ever!" Leo shouted. Piper leaped up and whirled on him, glaring angrily. Leo yelped and scrambled back, whimpering "Sorry!"

I smiled softly. Nico sat in the shadows. I couldn't make out his expression. Jason let me lean against him. He put his arm around me in a brotherly way which, if I had the strength, would probably have embarrassed me.

"So what happened?" I asked again.

"Well..." Jason began. "Nico figured out Dylan's plan before did. After he, um," He cleared his throat, and I felt pain coming from him. Guilt. "After he dropped you, it was milliseconds later that a golden arrow pierced Dylan's side. It exploded, dispelling Dylan. I guess you knew that." he said, smiling slightly. "The other _venti_ retreated. I told the others to land and I dived after you. But when I caught you..." he trailed off.

"I thought you were Dylan and fought against you." I finished softly. I stared at the fire embarrassed.

"Yeah.. I was weak from flying so that's why I lost my grip... I didn't- I mean I wasn't trying to.. I'm sorry..." he finished softly. His pain grew stronger. He felt really guilty about dropping me.

"I was just overreacting. I'll do better next time. It was my fault we lost valuable time. It wont happen again." I said firmly. Jason's pain again grew stronger. It was really starting to hurt. He still felt like it was his fault, and that I was taking the blame for him. I couldn't take anymore. I placed my hand on his chest and pulled the pain into me. It hit my chest, my heart, knocking me flat on my back. I heard someone yell, "No!"

My heart was beating erratically, making breathing difficult. I was gasping and coughing. Jason looked down at me in fear.

"Are you okay? Thalia? Thalia?"

I couldn't answer him. I clutched my fists to my chest. Suddenly he was shoved away. Nico knelt next to me. He helped me drink some nectar between gasps. He turned back to Jason, anger on his face.

"What is wrong with you?!" he yelled. "Can't you get a grip on your emotions?! You could have killed her!"

I had never seen Nico so angry. Jason stared in open-mouthed shock. I put a hand on Nico's arm. The nectar helped my breathing get back to normal. "It's okay, Nico. He didn't mean to."

He turned to me and I thought that, just for a moment, his expression soften. But just as quickly his expression went back to his usual serious face.

"You're okay?" he asked, his voice had no hint of emotion.

I was confused by his behavior, so I just nodded and said, "Thanks." softly.

He got up. "I'm going for a walk." He said, curtly.

No one moved to stop him. I looked at the others. Piper was looking between me and Jason in concern. Annabeth stared after Nico, her eyebrows raised. She looked like she knew what happened, but when she saw me looking at her, she quickly looked away. Leo was watching all of us and chowing down on popcorn, like this was some drama movie in a cinema. He stopped eating when he saw me watching him, a fist full of popcorn held halfway to his already full mouth. He looked just like Po from Kung Fu Panda, when he got caught eating Monkey's almond cookies. I almost smiled at that thought. But I still couldn't stop wondering what was wrong with Nico...


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13:**_

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I must have wrote and re-wrote this chapter five times. I tried to include where I was going with Nico and Thalia's relationship, but it didn't flow. So not yet! I'll have some questions at the bottom for you guys to get your opinions in. So PLEASE READ! Anyways, here are the reviews!:**

TheBigCat: howdy, Im the newbie! I luv your story, so keep updating! And its prtty obvious that nico likes thalia! **Thanks! Love getting new people!**

GirlHayley: Lolz. I see a love triangle between Leo Nico and Thalia. Can I use Thalia in my story, because she is so awesome? Update!

-Hayley Goth, Hayles, daughter of Hades **Love triangle? You're getting warm! Close but not quite. As for using Thalia in you're story, um yeah! I'm surprised and flattered. Just so you know, it will be AU (alternate universe) because of what I have planned for the end of the story!**

i dream of faraway places: That's a good chapter. I loved it! When are you updating next? Just wanted to know. Great great great great great great great great great gr eat great great great great great great great great great great job! Great, now I sound like a teacher. But it's still true. :-) **Thank you! Sorry for keeping you waiting! Forgive me? :)**

Louisa4556: ARGH! *bangs head on table multiple times* Even for someone of my caliber who has no idea how to distinguish love can tell Nico likes her! *bangs head on table some more*

If you keep this kind of thing up, I'll be banging my head on a lot of tables and walls...

Lou **Ahem.. well.. this is awkward... Uh please stop banging your head. Refer to the Readers Note I put okay? And get an icepack...**

Biggest Nico Fan: (Guest) So... You are my... Sister? Lucky! You got to go to camp. •_• I really want to go... But I'm military brat, so we never stay in NY long enough... London is a ton of fun to be in, BTW! Don't forget Dad is the god of music, light, archery, gymnastics, and basically anything written down (He invented the alphabet!)

Great job so far  
Byez! Enjoy Nico's company. **Another sister! And one who has been to London! SOOO lucky! Thanks or the review! And hopefully you can visit CHB? :)**

Melody Di Angelo: Nico like-LIKEs her?! *Fake shock* more please! Soon! **Sorry it wasn't real soon! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Seriously guys, these reviews put the stupidest, goofiest, grin on my face and it lasts for days. People think I'm insane but I don't care! Review!**

_**Reader's Note:**_** So everyone thinks Nico LIKES LIKES Thalia. My response? KEEP THINKING THAT! It will make the ending all the more surprising! So ***false sincerity* **Yes! You guys are exactly right! And that's all I'm saying for now. :D Here you guys go!**

I couldn't sleep. There was way too much going through my head. The quest, Dylan, the fall, my dream, Nico... I pressed palms against my eyes. _Gods, what have I gotten myself into?_ Nico hadn't come back yet, but I wasn't worried. He knew how to take care of himself I sighed. I had tried to figure out what was up with Nico, but nothing made sense. Mood swings? No. I mean, he seemed slightly moody but nothing else. Over anxious? Uh, no. The dude hangs out with ghosts. He hates Jason? Maybe... There was one other option. _No. No that's way off. Forget it._ But... WAS it possible that Nico liked me? I snorted. Nope. No chance. But part of me hoped... I groaned in frustration. _NO! Quit it! You'll just complicate things.._ The voice in my head was getting annoying, but had a point. I resolved to asking Annabeth about Nico the next morning.  
At some point I must have passed out from exhaustion, because the next thing I knew I was waking up to sunrise and the smell of buttered biscuits. Leo was indeed making biscuits over a fire while the others packed their things in their backpacks. Nico was there too, but his back was to me as he packed. I looked down. I was in a yellow sleeping bag with a black zipper. I wasn't sure who it belonged to, or where to put it. I decided to see how bad I looked I grabbed a mirror and a hairbrush out of my backpack. My hair was a mess. I managed to get most of the knots out. Then I pulled my hair into a short side ponytail.

Annabeth saw me awake and, smiling, she came over. "Did you sleep well?" she asked, as I climbed out of the sleeping bag and stretched.

I nodded. "Okay, thanks. Um.." I shuffled my feet awkwardly. "Who's sleeping bag is this?" I asked, holding one end up.

"Oh! It's yours. I forgot to give it to you before we left. We all have one." I was slightly confused. The sleeping bags were huge. I would've noticed her and the others carrying one, much less two. Annabeth saw my skeptical look and smiled. "Say pakéto" Which I understood was the Greek word for 'pack'.

"Okay.. pakéto " I said. The sleeping bag yanked itself out of my hand and laid flat on the ground. It began folding itself over and over again so fast my eyes had trouble keeping up. When it finished, Annabeth picked it up. It was folded into a small triangle, slightly bigger than my palm in length, and about two inches thick. "No way.." I breathed. Annabeth smirked and tossed it to me. I caught it and turned it over in my hands, wondering how it was made.

"Leo designed them." Annabeth informed me.

"Yes, I am a genius." Leo put his elbow on my shoulder and leaned against me. "You see, the trick is the magic. Getting the magic just right is the key, which I did!" he said proudly.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Which the HECATE cabin did, after your prototype failed."

Leo puffed up his chest. "It didn't fail! It may have had a couple of little bugs, but the Hecate cabin fixed them." This was turning into a tennis match between the two.

"A couple of 'bugs'? The sleeping bags were terrorizing the camp and swallowing campers and satyrs! And they ate Chiron's tail curlers!"

Leo was falling over laughing. "I'd never seen Chiron run so fast! He chased the sleeping bag all over camp screaming 'Give me back my curlers!' Ah.. Good times. Good times..."

I snickered. Not for the first time I wondered how I ended up such great companions. 'Stop. If they knew your secret, and what Gaea has asked you to do, I doubt they'd be so chummy.' My smile faded. Leo frowned and studied me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I swallowed and forced a smile. "Yeah! Sorry, just spaced out for a minute."

He studied me. I had a moment of panic. 'Gods.. please believe me..' I kept my smile. After a minute, he broke into a grin.

"If you say so, amigo! Now, who wants to try my amazing biscuits and their awesome buttery-ness?"

"Buttery-ness?" Piper questioned, a hint of amusement on her face.

"They're butterific!" Leo shouted. He pumped a fist in the air.

"Butterific?" Piper was smiling now.

"Quit questioning my butter words and eat the dang biscuits!" Leo moaned.

"Whatever you say, Repair Boy." Piper smirked and plopped down on the ground next to Jason.

"Don't call me that.." Leo muttered, serving the biscuits to everyone. He began pulling plates out of his tool belt, handing them out. The biscuits really were amazing. The were warm and melted in your mouth. When I was done, I handed Leo my plate and he dropped it in his tool belt. When I turned around, I almost bumped into Nico. I mentally slapped myself. _How could I have forgotten about him?!_

"Sorry." I mumbled and walked away. He didn't acknowledge me. _Gotta ask Annabeth.._ She was going over what she had in her backpack. I was nervous. I mean, what would I say? I debated asking her. After taking a deep breath, I approached her.  
"Hey, Annabeth?" I asked.

"Hmm?" She kept digging in her bag.

"Um... I wanted to.. talk with you. About, uh, Nico.."

"What about him?" She seemed to be avoiding the subject.

"Last night.." I prodded.

She sighed. "Alright. Nico doesn't have many people he likes. He tolerates most people, but rarely 'likes' them. Me, Percy, and Thalia-other Thalia, are it. Except Mrs. O'Leary, Tyson mostly, and Grover. But they aren't half-bloods. Thalia and Percy are his cousins, and I'm practically his cousin too. Now you. We're the only half-bloods. Ever since Bianca died, he's been very protective of those he likes. With Percy missing, it's probably made it more apparent. I don't know what you did, but somehow you got Nico to care for you. Don't make him regret that." Her voice was clear, it was a warning.  
Her eyes were stormy grey. I didn't know what to say.  
"Got it!" She pulled a map out of her bag and laid it flat on the ground. She turned to the others. "Guys, we need to double-check our route. How do we want to get San Francisco?"

Piper and Jason nodded and came over.

I got the feeling I was dismissed. I turned and walked away confused. I began taking inventory of the supplies I had. _Nico cared for me? But.. how much? As a friend or something more?_ I didn't know. _Assume it's just as a friend. That's all it is. Focus._ I zipped my backpack.

"Alright, guys." Annabeth announced. "We're at the Pennsylvania border. We'll go through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, then San Francisco. If we keep up a good pace, and if we don't run into too many monsters, we'll be at Mt. Tam by Friday. We should camp a ways away from Mt. Tam. I don't want any 'surprise visits' from monsters. Saturday we scout and come up with a plan of attack. Sunday," She looked each of us in the eyes solemnly, stopping with me. Her grey eyes storming. "We go to battle."

On that happy note, we broke camp. I was nervous about flying again. Well, actually, I was scared of falling. Just thinking about it made my stomach drop. I hesitantly walked up to Blackjack. I stood nervously next to him. Jason slung his backpack on his back and looked my way. I knew I looked pale and scared. He looked sympathetic. He pointed to Dusty and raised an eyebrow, silently asking 'Want to ride with me?' I thought about it. Riding behind him, arms securely around him, I'd have a less chance of falling off. But then I'd let my fear get to me. I knew I had to toughen up. So, I took a deep breath, smiled, shook my head, and mounted Blackjack. Jason smiled back and hopped on Dusty.  
"Okay Blackjack. Let's try this again, shall we?"

***~*~O~*~***

Six hours later we stopped for lunch. We landed in some woods, just far enough away from the town so as not to alert mortals. Because, you know, six teenagers on winged flying horses might scare some people. We walked into town. As we did, I caught up to Annabeth. "So where are we?" I asked.

Annabeth pulled her map out of her knapsack and unfolded it. After a quick glance at our surroundings, she announced, "Perrysburg. About 11 miles outside of Toledo." She folded the map and shoved it back in her pack. "We had a strong breeze behind us, so the pegasi were able to glide most of the way. It didn't tire their wings out as fast."

I nodded.

We found a McDonald's and went to use their bathroom. Then we went back to the pegasi and ate a quick lunch of sandwiches. After flying for a while, we camped at South Bend, Indiana. It was a quiet night. I wasn't sure that was a good thing.. After a small dinner (I wasn't hungry), I pulled out my handheld sleeping bag. Then I realized something. _How do I open it? Hmmm.._ I got an idea.  
"ýpnos. " I said, which was Greek for 'sleep'. The sleeping bag unfolded itself. I smiled in satisfaction. Not long after I laid down, I fell asleep. But of course I had a nightmare.

I was in a forest. I could see Jason, Piper, Leo, Annabeth, and Nico fighting... clay monsters? They were humanoid creatures that looked like they were made of mud or clay. They only wore dirty loincloths for clothes. Each of them were at least eight feet tall and carried thick wooden clubs. There were six of them, one for each quest member. Everyone chose a clay monster and began fighting them. That left me with the beefiest, ugliest one. I drew my sword and shrunk it into a dagger. I dodged its club swings, stabbing it in the side, the leg, the arm, wherever I could get a chance. But dirt from the ground would rise up and cover the creature's wounds, and when it fell away, the wound was gone. I was growing tired. I glanced towards the others. Leo was shooting fire from his hands, melting a creature into a pile of goo. There were already two piles. Too late I realized I was distracted too long. I saw the creature's club coming towards me in slow motion. It caught me in the chest, throwing me twenty feet backward. As I hit the ground, I heard a 'CRACK' from my left shoulder. I did a backward somersault and cried out as agony washed over me. I knew my shoulder was dislocated. It felt like it was on fire. The creature stood over me, smiling his yellow toothed smile. I was barely conscious as it raised its club, ready to smash me to pieces..

* * *

**Okay so, a couple of questions: What do you guys think of me showing a darker side of Dylan? Yes? No? **

**What do you guys think of the new cover? (I personally like it better!)**

**I feel at times that some of the characters are OOC, what do you guys think?  
**

**And any suggestions? Stuff you guys wanna see?**

* * *

**So since you guys have waited patiently how about a sneak peak of the end of the book? It won't give away any huge secrets, but it will be a glimpse. So? You guys want one? I'll try to update tomorrow (I have school and youth group then). But if I can't, I'll DEFINITELY update Thursday. REVIEW!**

_**Thalia Bolt**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14:**_

**Chapter 14 as promised! Two reviews for a kinda lame chapter. I'm REALLY thankful I got at least two, cause nothing really happened last chapter. But that was intentional! So here they are:**

i dream of faraway places: Thank you for updating! This is personally my favorite story that I am following right now. Nice chapter! I agree with you, the current front cover is better. And I request a dark Dylan, I don't think that the characters are too OOC, is that it? Yep, questions answered. This chapter didn't really have any action in it so if you can, could you make the next one more action filled? P.S. I forgive you for updating late ;-) **Your... FAVORITE?! Oh my goodness! I feel like I'm actually doing something right! Thanks for answering my questions! And as far as action not a WHOLE lot (though Gaea sends a bad dream at the end). This chapter and the last are setting up chapter 15 (which, I think, will be pretty cool). So hang tight!**

Louisa4533: *laughs* It's ok, I don't need an ice pack. I'd practically have to bang my head on a stone step before it starts to hurt or swell. Needless to say, I've got a REALLY hard head. Both literally and figurtively.  
So, questions, in order:  
A darker side of Dylan? Dylan's already pretty dang evil...  
I love it! did you make it in Paint?  
Not really. Well, technically, EVERYONE'S characters on this site are OOC, since obviously, we aren't Rick Riordan!  
Nope! I think you're doing pretty good right now!

And for the sneak peek: it would please me very much to read a sneak peek. Oh, forget the formal. YES I WOULD LIKE A SNEAK PEEK!  
It's fine, update whenever. As long as you do update!  
Lou  
**Glad you're okay! To answer YOUR answers:  
Dylan will get worse!  
I have an app on my Windows phone called Fantasia Painter. It's pretty neat! ^-^  
Thanks  
and  
Thanks!  
I will keep updating till this story is done!**

**SNEAK PEEK AT END OF CHAPTER!**

**Review guys! PLEASE?**

My eyes snapped open. Reflexively I grabbed my left shoulder. I sighed in relief when I realized it was fine. It was early morning. The sun hadn't risen yet. _Well, dad hasn't fired up his chariot yet._ I still found it hard to believe that the sun wasn't a huge ball of gas, it was my DAD in a CHARIOT.

"Are you okay?" Someone asked. I jumped and looked around. Jason sat with his back against a tree and a sword across his lap. He was on watch.

"Yeah, just a wild dream."

He nodded in understanding. In case you didn't know, demigods have some freaky dreams. Most of the time they're about real events. I hoped to the gods mine wasn't.

"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll take over."

"You sure?" He asked.

I nodded. "I doubt I'll get anymore sleep anyways."

Jason sheathed his sword and unstrapped it from his side, then laid down in his sleeping bag. Soon he was fast asleep. I grabbed my dagger and took Jason's vacated seat by the tree. Nothing attacked. A few hours later, Annabeth began to stir. Then Leo, then Nico, then Piper, and finally Jason.

"Okay, let's see what's on the menu today!" Leo said. He opened his tool bag and stuck his arm in. His arm went deeper and deeper until almost his whole arm was buried in it. He stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. "Aha! It worked!" he shouted. He pulled out a waffle iron. "Who wants waffles?!"

About thirty minutes later, everyone had a plate of waffles. I saw Nico sitting a little away from the group. _Alright, the awkward silence has gone on long enough._ I decided. I took my plate and sat next to him.

"Hey."

He glanced toward me. "Hey."

That's when I realized, _I have nothing to say... crap._ I looked up at the sky. The sun- _Apollo_, was just starting to rise.  
"I still find it hard to believe that's a chariot." I said.

"It's not a chariot." Nico said.

I did a double take. "What?"

"Well, it is but it isn't. He can change its shape. Kinda like your dagger. He prefers a red Maserati. And on rare occasions a big white van, but only when he needs to transfer a large group."

As if I wasn't confused enough as it is. "So, my dad let's people ride in his CHARIOT?"

"Yeah. When I was ten, right after I met Percy, Annabeth (sort of), and Thalia, Apollo came to give us a ride to camp. Along with my sister, Bianca, and the Hunters of Artemis." At the mention of Bianca, I felt a pang of pain from him. "Since Thalia was a daughter of Zeus, Apollo thought it would be a good idea to let her drive."

I felt slightly jealous that the original Thalia got to drive _my_ dad's chariot.

"Turns out she was deathly afraid of heights and torched New England."

Scratch that, not jealous. I busted out laughing. Nico smirked.

"Probably the most terrifying moment in my life. Especially after crash landing in the middle of Camp Half-blood. Needless to say, everyone was _NOT_ happy."

"Guess not." I chuckled. It felt good to have Nico as a friend. I didn't want to ruin it.

"Alright guys, we need to get going!" Annabeth called. We packed up and mounted the pegasi. Once again, we flew for hours. Sometime around one in the afternoon, we landed for lunch.

"Welcome to Davenport, Illinois." Annabeth announced. Just like yesterday we wandered into town, made a bathroom stop, lunch, and again took off. I was concerned we hadn't been attacked, as crazy as it sounds. Was Gaea just toying with us? Or did she have something planned? That thought sent shivers down my spine. After the sun went down, we camped at Omaha. This was the latest we'd flown, because there was no breeze propelling the pegasi. After dinner, I went to Nico. "Do you think it's weird?"

"What?" he asked.

"We haven't been attacked since Pennsylvania. I mean, I know this is my first quest but, don't you usually get attacked a lot?"

Nico's expression darkened. "Something's up. Gaea has something planned."

I nodded. "That's what I'm afraid of." I said quietly. I laid down, hoping I wouldn't have another nightmare. Apparently that was too much to ask for.

_**~*~*O*~*~**_

I was in a thick wood. The trees towered high above my head. And it was cold. Very cold. _Why did it get cold? Davenport was warm.._ I finally emerged from the trees. In front of me was a huge lake. Suddenly I heard a yell. I ran towards the sound. Annabeth, Piper, Jason, and Leo were fighting clay monsters. _Again? Am I having the same dream?_ I wondered. Instead of running forward, I froze. I couldn't move. Suddenly Nico ran up from behind me.

"Come on!" he shouted, and ran to help.

A horrible feeling washed over me. I felt like I knew what was going to happen, but I didn't. I just had one thought:_ I HAVE to stop what's going to happen!_ Then I was free to move. I drew my sword and ran. As I got closer, I realized the monsters were shorter and skinnier than my last dream. These were around six and a half feet tall, and there were eight of them. I jumped straight into the middle of it, and let my instincts take over. _Slash, duck, stab, roll, jump back, slash, hack._ We were doing good. Somehow we managed to destroy two of them. I glanced over to see how the others were doing. Nico wasn't far away from me. He was quick. Ducking and dodging the swings of two monsters. He wasn't as skilled as Percy, doing difficult maneuvers and disarming techniques, but he was efficient. I remembered that Nico had fought in the Titan War. He was a war veteran. Suddenly, the ground behind him began to bubble. Then the mud rose up and formed the eight foot tall monster from my other dream. Nico hadn't noticed. The monster raised its club.  
"Nico!" I screamed. He turned too late. The club caught him in the side, sending him flying towards the lake. With a huge _KER-SPLASH!,_ he went under. For two heartbeats I froze. Then anger washed over me. I charged the monster and swung my sword. Just before my blade would have sliced it in two, it melted into the ground and was gone. I growled in frustration. Turning to the water, I scanned for any sign of Nico. At first I saw nothing, then he surfaced. I sighed in relief. But as I looked closer, my heart stopped in horror. Nico was floating face down, and he wasn't moving.

_**"This is what happens to those who defy me..."**_ Gaea murmured. The last thing I heard was her chilling laugh.

**_~*~*O*~*~_**

I sat bolt upright, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. I whirled around untill I found Nico. He was sleeping peacefully, his back to me.

"Thalia? Thalia what's wrong?" Jason asked worriedly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the others awake. I didn't answer him. I tried to reassure myself that he was okay. He stirred, then sat up. He looked my way. I knew I looked terrified. He froze. I don't know if he knew why I was freaking out. Maybe I was over reacting, but... demigod dreams usually weren't just dreams. I'd rather have my shoulder dislocated than watch one of my friends die. That's when I realized everyone was staring at me.

"I-I'm fine." It sounded weak, even to me. "I just.. I don't want to talk about it." I walked a ways from the group, just far enough so they couldn't see me. I could smell Leo's cooking. I didn't have an appetite, so I didn't eat. I paced, wondering what to do. _WAS I overreacting? Or was this a vision of the future? Was Nico going to die? Could I stop it? Or is Gaea just messing with my mind? What did Gaea mean by 'This is what happens to those who defy me?' Did she mean me, or Nico?_ I rubbed a hand over my face. _C'mon Thalia, pull yourself together._ I straightened my shoulders and walked back to the camp. I didn't look at anyone as I packed up my stuff and threw on my London backpack. I climbed on Blackjack.  
"I wish I could understand you. It'd be nice to have someone I could talk to about anything." I whispered in his ear. He tossed his head.

"Okay. Next stop: Nebraska." Annabeth said. My stomach dropped. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about Nebraska. Something bad was about to happen. And I couldn't stop it.

* * *

**Here is your sneak peek! It's kind of short, but any longer it would reveal all the twists and turns I have planned. So, here you go!**

* * *

When you see a hero getting captured in a movie or read about one in a book, they're brave, they taunt the enemy, laugh in the face of danger, resist torture... Well, that's not true. At least in my case. You're scared. You don't know what's going to happen next. You have no clue where your friends are, or even if they are alive. You don't know if you'll live to see another day or person. You're not sure you want to. You can feel you sanity slipping away. And sometimes... you have your heart-broken. A huge part of you just wants to cry. The one thing that is somewhat true in movies and books... is how horrible your captors can be. I sat in a corner of my dark cell. _I'm sorry Dad.. I failed.._ Suddenly, the door to my cell opened.

"Alone at last, Thalia... Let's have some fun." His dark laughter echoed off the walls, as he strode towards me...

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**Review? You guys are awesome!**

_**Thalia Bolt**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15:**_

**Hey guys! Here it is! Chapter 15! The action you have requested has been delivered! This is my longest chapter yet! Hope you guys like it. As of right now, only one person (other than myself) knows how this story will end. I think it will be amazing. BUT, we are a little ways from there so for now, chapter 15!  
Reviews:**

i dream of faraway places: OK. That was the BEST sneak peek that UV ever had without giving away the plot. Great job! And I was being truthful when I said that your story was my favorite. My second fav is one called Heavy in my Arms by xxbethamphetaminexx. I highly recommend you read it. It is AWESOME! Much like this story, in fact but with COMPLETELY different plotlines. And I forgive you for not having much action in this one. :-) DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY NOW OOOOOHHHH OH OH OOOOOOH DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY- sorry. Any who (I just love saying that) good luck with the next chapter! Happy birthday! (It's probably not your birthday, but I'm gonna say it anyway) sorry for such a long review, and goodnight (or good morning, or g' day) I'm from Australia ;-) yeah... I ramble... **Thanks SO MUCH! I had hoped you guys would like the sneak peak! And no, it wasn't my birthday. But today is! (No seriously, it really is my birthday) So thanks! Goodnight (or good mornin' or good afternoon) from 'MURICA! I ramble too lol. :)**

Louisa4533: *sniffs* That's a bit too true than I'd like to admit...

Oh boy. The name 'Thalia' must be cursed or something, because all the powers get granted to them and more power more smell more monsters ACK! I'M GONNA DIE! feelings. **Never thought about it, but maybe it is the name? O.o Anyway, with epic names, comes great responsibilities. lol ****  
**

**Thanks for reviewing guys! More please? It would make my birthday specials! ^-^ I need a little pick me up today. Not exactly the greatest day, but my youth group friends made the day a little better. Whether you guys hate or love this chapter, I wanna know! So click the review button!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I was not given the rights to PJO or HOO for my birthday (even though that would be AMAZING!). So all rights still belong to Rick.-_-**

Not long after we started flying, Annabeth announced that we were in Nebraska. The wind was steadily picking up. After four hours of flying, the pegasi were fighting to stay in the air. The wind was ferocious, battering us mercilessly. And it was cold. Very cold. Nico and Shadow flew closer to me and Blackjack.

"Is this _venti_?" I yelled over the wind.

"Most likely." Nico yelled back.

I fought to stay on Blackjack. We were high up, nothing but trees below us. I knew if I fell off, there would be no saving me this time. My hair was flying all over the place. The rubber band holding my ponytail was long gone.  
Just when I thought the weather couldn't get any worse, it did. A tornado appeared in front of us. Bigger than the ones in Pennsylvania. The wind was blowing so hard we couldn't avoid it. We were forced to fly straight into it. Right before we hit it, I could have sworn I saw Dylan's grinning face. I was sucked off of Blackjack and thrown around like a rag doll. The air was sucked out of my lungs. The world was spinning so fast I couldn't see. I felt sick. _This is it..._ I thought. Everything went black.

_**~*~*O*~*~**_

I slowly came to my senses. My head was pounding. Someone was shaking my shoulder and calling my name. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. Nico was kneeling over me.  
"Are you okay?" he asked.

"My head is pounding, but I don't think anything's broken. I'm fine. What about you?"

"No, _I'M_ fine. _YOU_ have a concussion." he said.

I waved him off and sat up. I felt really dizzy, but I wasn't going to admit it.

"You have a knot right here." He touched my forehead.

"Ouch!"

"Told you." he said

"I'm still fine. What about the others?" I asked. I looked around. No one was with us. Just trees. That worried me. "Where are the others?" I asked Nico. He shrugged.

"I don't know. When I woke up, we were here. They're alive though."

"How do you know they're-" I started. Then I remembered. _Duh.. _

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Son of Hades, remember?" He studied me. "How hard did you hit your head?"

I wanted to say, _What? Hitting my head has nothing to do with it. I'm really that ditzy._ But I doubted it would help my mental case. Instead, I rolled my eyes.

"I'm _fine! _So what do we do now? Hug a tree?" I asked.

Nico looked around.

"I don't know where the others are, so I can't shadow travel us. And I don't know how safe we are here. I guess we should look for the others."

"Do we even know where we are?" I asked.

"A wildlife reserve or state park I guess.. Can you walk?"

"No problem." I stood, but had to catch myself before I fell. Nico reached out to help me. "I'm good! I got it." I said.  
Nico looked at me skeptically.  
"C'mon. Let's go." I begin foraging through the trees. Nico reluctantly followed.

**_ ~*~*O*~*~_**

It felt like the woods went on _forever._ I had no clue how long we had walked. It could have been hours or minutes (ADHD can get _really _annoying). It was pretty here. Tall towering trees, birds flying to and fro, squirrels scurrying on the ground, blue sky. If only it wasn't so _cold._ The temperature had dropped significantly. I turned back to Nico.

"Did the venti mess with the temperature too?"

He shrugged.

Just when I thought the trees would never end, they started to thin out. For some reason, I had a creepy feeling of déjà vu. I wasn't sure why. I'd never been to Nebraska before (if we were still _in_ Nebraska). _Why does this seem so familiar?_ I thought hard. Suddenly, I heard someone yell. It sounded like Piper. That's when it hit me. _Tall trees, cold weather, the yell.. No._ I began running towards the sound. _No. No, no, no, NO!_ I burst out the trees. Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and Leo were fighting the clay monsters. I froze in horror. There was the lake.. The lake Nico would drown in. He ran past me.

"Come on!" he shouted.

I had one thought: _I HAVE to stop this!_ I drew my sword and jumped in the middle of it, and let my instincts take over._ Slash, duck, stab, roll, jump back, slash, hack._ I fought hard toward Nico, even though the creatures were pushing me back. I saw two of the creatures go down. _It's gonna happen soon!_ I prayed I wouldn't be too late. I saw the ground bubbling behind him.  
"Get out of my way!" I said in frustration. "Ni-" Before I could warn Nico, the creature I was fighting knocked me down. "Oof!" I quickly had to roll out the way before its club smashed my face in. I stood and screamed, "NICO!"

He turned too late. The eight-foot tall creature's club caught him in the side, sending him flying towards the lake. With a huge _KER-SPLASH!,_ he went under.

_**"Let him drown... One of your friends must die, why not him?****"** _Gaea whispered in my mind. Anger. Boiling anger washed over me. Jason was fighting behind me.

"Jason, fly me over there." I said.

"What?"

I yanked his arm and whirled him around, pointing where Nico went under. "Fly me over there. NOW!" I yelled.

He glanced at the water, then at me, before wrapping an arm around my waist and rocketing us towards the lake.

"Help the others!" I said, before letting go of him and plunging into the water. If I hadn't been underwater, I would have gasped. The water was SO COLD. It was so cold it hurt. I pushed the cold aside, frantically searching for Nico. Finally I caught a glimpse of a pale hand. I grabbed it and pulled him up. Wrapping an arm around his waist, I swam up to the surface. I could clearly see the shore and the others fighting, but it was a ways away. Holding tight to Nico, I swam to shore. It was a long swim. I only had one arm to use, the other holding Nico. The water was making my limbs numb. My grip was slipping. _I will NOT let go of him!_ I thought stubbornly, tightening my grip. My skin burned from the cold.  
Finally, _finally_, I made it to the shore. It took all my strength to haul us onto dry land. I collapsed. I was shivering uncontrollably and my teeth chattered. As much as I wished I could just pass out, I had to make sure Nico was alive. With trembling hands, both from fear and cold, I checked his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. He was just unconscious. The others were still fighting. There were four monsters left. I didn't think I could fight with my sword, but I could use my bow. I grasped the air; my bow and quiver appearing in a shower of golden sparks. I grabbed an arrow and took aim. I was still shivering. I had to be careful not to hit the guys.  
_This is what happens when you mess with my friends Gaea.. I fight back._ I fired one arrow after another. Once an arrow was lodged in each of the creatures, I called out to Leo.

"Leo! Heat the arrows!"

He did as I asked, blasting fire at the arrows.

"Everybody jump back!" I yelled. The arrows heated up until they exploded. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The creatures were gone. I wasted no time going back to Nico. I felt horrible. Nico was hurt because of me. He could have DIED because of me. He was shivering and his skin looked paler than usual. I guessed he had hypothermia. Me as well. _What to do? What to do?_ I wondered. Suddenly I remembered the pocket-sized canteen of nectar in my pocket. I took it out, uncorked the top, and drizzled a little in Nico's mouth. Too much would make him burst into flames. I doubted he would ever forgive me for that. Soon Jason, Piper, Leo, and Annabeth were with us. Annabeth knelt on Nico's other side.

"He's alive, just unconscious. I think he has hypothermia."

She gave Nico a quick once over before nodding. "Definitely hypothermia. No broken bones though. What about you?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. I wasn't in there as long as he was." I lied, trying to stop my trembling.

She studied me quickly before nodding. "Okay. We can't stay here. More storm spirits or earthborn could show up."

_Earthborn... So that's what they're called._ I thought.

"We need somewhere we can properly treat Nico. A hotel. There has to be one somewhere around here. I have the cash, and we can ride the pegasi." Annabeth continued.

Leo raised his hand. I could tell he was a little scared of Annabeth. Actually, I think everyone was. "Um, how do we explain an unconscious kid?" he asked, pointing to Nico.

"Leo, I think that's the smartest question you've asked." Piper said with mock surprise.

Leo scowled at her, muttering something about "Organic lifeforms."

"Piper," I said suddenly. I had an idea.

"What? I was joking!"

"No, not that! I meant you! You could charmspeak the staff. Last night, we were at a party and got wasted. We can't go home or our parents will kill us. We just need a place to crash for a while. We already look rough and exhausted."

Annabeth looked thoughtful. "That could work. Piper, you up to it?"

Piper nodded.

"Okay. Jason, carry Nico." Annabeth said. She stood and whistled loudly. Soon the pegasi landed in front of us. I was amazed to see that none of them had been harmed by the tornado. I grabbed my backpack and Nico's knapsack before mounting Blackjack. Jason put Nico across Dusty's back before climbing on behind him. Once in the air, I let my body tremble and my teeth chatter. I couldn't let the others know I was sick too. One injured quest member was enough. It was my fault anyways. Thank the gods it was only fifteen minutes before we found a hotel. We landed in a small wooded area across from it. We told the pegasi they could do whatever, as long as the mortals didn't see them. We really didn't need mass panic... Again.

"Annabeth, Piper, I think you guys should go in first. Jason, Leo, and I will bring in Nico once you give the all-clear." I said.  
They nodded and crossed the street.  
"Leo, get a baseball cap and pull it low over Nico's eyes."  
Leo did as I asked.

Soon Annabeth came and waved us over. Jason and Leo each put Nico's arms over their shoulders, his feet dragging the ground. We quickly crossed the street. Once inside the lobby, I glanced around. The theme seemed to be creme and white mouldings with gold touches and extravagant chandeliers. In other words, _expensive._ The concierge stood behind the check-in desk. He was an older man with brown, neatly trimmed hair and beard. He wore a tan suit, white dress shirt, and a gold tie. He almost blended in with the decor. His eyes were glazed over and he was smiling. When he saw us, his grin widened.  
"I remember those days!" he said before stumbling into the staff room like a drunk man, still grinning stupidly. _Piper must have laid the charmspeak on THICK, _I thought. There was no one else in the lobby except an elderly couple sitting on a nice leather couch, who gave us disapproving looks. They probably thought we were stupid teenagers with rich parents. _If only they knew the truth.._ Annabeth waved us over to the elevators.

"We're on the fifth floor." she said, flashing our room keys. "Piper managed to get us a 'deal' on the best suits in the hotel."

I noticed Jason give a small smile of pride at his girlfriend's work. The boys were in suite 5003 and the girls were across the hall in suite 5004. We took Nico into the guys' room. Piper was already there, getting warm water and wash cloths. Nico looked worse. Annabeth turned to me.  
"You saw what happened?" she asked.

I nodded. "A huge crea- I mean earthborn rose out of the ground behind Nico. I tried to warn him but it was too late. The earthborn's club caught him in the side, knocking him into the water."

"Which side?" she asked.

"Right."

Annabeth pulled Nico's shirt up. His whole right side was bruised. I felt even worse. It was all my fault. Annabeth felt his side.  
"Good news is, nothing's broken. Bad news is, his ribs are bruised." she announced.

"What about his hypothermia?" I asked nervously.

"With some nectar and ambrosia, plus a warm bed and a hot shower when he wakes up, he should be fine. I think he'll wake up in a few hours. In the meantime we should all try to get some rest."

For the first time all day, I relaxed. I was still struggling with the effects of my concussion when I dived after Nico. Now, with the concussion, hypothermia, stress, exhaustion, and relief mixing together, I couldn't stand upright anymore. I began shivering violently again and my teeth chattered.

"Thalia?" someone asked. My knees buckled. Faces appeared above me. I heard people talking but I only caught bits and pieces. Annabeth shined a light in my eyes.

".. Concussion..."

".. Hypothermia..."

".. Said she was fine..."

".. Needs help..

".. Hear me?"

I blacked out.

* * *

**So? What did ya think? Have an awesome day!**

_**Thalia Bolt**_


	16. IMPORTANT!

Hey guys, sorry this isn't a chapter. :( I've had a severe case of writer's block on chapter 16. I wanted to let y'all know that I have **NOT **abandoned the story! So stick with me a little longer? I probably won't be able to update the next few weeks. I leave for Student Life camp with my church tomorrow! I'll be gone for a week, then I come home, grab another bag, and leave for Disney World the next day. So I'll be busy! So anyways, stay with me! The rest of the story IS coming! If you have any suggestions, review! I would love to hear them. Stay tuned, my friends!

_**Thalia Bolt**_


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